Shattered Trust - Victory
by cleotheo
Summary: With the truth about Hermione's fake death out in the open, her captors are languishing in Azkaban and The Dark Lord is taking control of Wizarding Britain. But Hermione and Draco aren't done fighting, and they will do whatever it takes to have their happy ever after. Fourth and final part of a four part story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – This is the final part of the Shattered Trust series. I'm sorry for the delay, but when I started posting this series at the beginning of the year, I honestly thought I would have it finished long before now. But to be honest this year has been a bit of a disappointment writing wise, and I haven't managed the amount of writing I had expected to do. As such, I still haven't finished this final part so I can't say exactly how many chapters it will be in the end. But I can promise you, it will be finished before the end of the year.**

 **So until I've finished writing, updates will be the usual Wednesday. Once I've finished it, and seen how long it is and how much of the year is left, updates will increase. But for now enjoy the final part of Shattered Trust.**

* * *

As midnight approached, Hermione Granger, stood on the balcony of the Malfoy villa in France. On the beach, just a short distance from the villa, a party was taking place to celebrate the New Year. Hermione could hear the faint sounds of music and laughter drifting up from the beach, but she was content to be away from the party. Just as Hermione heard soft footsteps behind her, fireworks from the beach party exploded in a riot of noise and colour overhead and she could hear the faint peeling of a church bell from the nearby village.

"Happy New Year," Draco Malfoy whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her and brushed his lips against her neck.

"Happy New Year," Hermione returned.

Hermione was more than pleased to be saying good riddance to the year they'd just endured and it was her fervent hope that this New Year would mark the start of a new future for everyone. Of course, right at this moment in time a bright future was still a bit of a pipe dream, but towards the end of the previous year she and Draco had taken the first steps into making that dream a reality. They had a plan, now all they had to do was make sure that their plan was successful.

"What do you think we'll be doing this time next year?" Hermione asked, quite content to just stand in Draco's arms and watch the firework display.

"I don't know," Draco answered quietly. "But if this last year has taught me anything, it's that life is unpredictable. We never would have predicted events of the past year."

"True," Hermione agreed with a small nod of her head.

Never in her wildest dreams could Hermione have ever imagined the horror and trauma she and Draco had endured over the last year. And worst of all, it had all been inflicted by the people she'd trusted the most. Her two best friends had betrayed her and broken her trust, and in return she'd helped land the pair of them in Azkaban, along with the others who had helped in the plot to fake her death and kidnap her.

"Do you think it will all work out in the end?" she asked softly as she turned to face her lover.

"I don't know," Draco answered for the second time, the expression on his face totally unreadable.

Hermione sighed softly at the distance she could see on Draco's face. She knew he wasn't shutting her out on purpose, but even their recent reunion hadn't been enough to completely crack through the icy exterior he'd encased himself in following her faked death. Truthfully, Hermione knew that Draco would never be the same wizard she fell in love with, but she still loved him with all her heart and she knew the feeling was entirely reciprocated. Although to be fair, she also wasn't the same witch he'd fallen in love with. Recent events had changed her and unleashed a dark side of her nature that she'd never known she possessed.

"We shouldn't worry about the future," Draco said softly, brushing a curl of soft brown hair away from Hermione's eyes. "Let's enjoy the moment."

"I'm all for enjoying the moment, what did you have in mind?" Hermione asked with a teasing grin.

Despite everything that had happened their sex life was still as smoking as ever. In fact, if anything it was even more adventurous and more passionate now they both knew what it was like to live without the other one. They'd spent months apart, with Draco not even knowing Hermione was alive, and since being reunited they couldn't get enough of each other.

"Take a wild guess," Draco said with a slight smirk as he slid his finger under one of the thin straps on Hermione's deep red dress and slid it down her arm.

As the strap fell down Hermione's arm, the top of her dress also slipped down, revealing one of her pert breasts, complete with a pebbled, rosebud nipple. Doing the same with her second strap, which revealed her second breast, Draco's grey eyes lapped up the sight of his topless girlfriend. Hermione shivered slightly under the intensity of Draco's gaze and she felt the arousal flooding her senses. With his eyes still glued to her exposed flesh, Draco tugged on the soft material of Hermione's dress and slid it down her body. Once the dress slid over her hips it rippled to the floor, pooling around her feet and leaving her standing in her lacy red knickers.

Kicking the dress off to one side, Hermione moved towards Draco, but her boyfriend stopped her with a shake of his head.

"I'm not done yet," he muttered, letting his hands trail down Hermione's side until they reached the flimsy material of her knickers. With one firm tug, he then tore the material away from his girlfriend's intimate area.

"Now are you done?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.

Since her return, she'd lost count of the amount of underwear her boyfriend had torn from her, but he was very generous with his money and had lavished a fortune on buying her new clothes and anything else she'd needed. At one point he'd even bought her a new wand, until the Ministry had forced Dumbledore to hand her original one over after he'd hidden it while she was his prisoner.

"No," Draco answered as he pulled Hermione into his arms and crashed his lips over hers.

Hermione eagerly returned the kiss, winding her arms around Draco's neck as she got as close as she could to him. The fact Draco was still fully clothed, while she was stark naked, merely added to Hermione's arousal, and little moans of pleasure kept falling from her lips as her sensitive nipples kept brushing Draco's expensive shirt.

"You are so sexy," Draco muttered as he walked Hermione towards the edge of the balcony and lifted her up onto the balcony wall.

Hermione couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at the fall that awaited her if she slipped. The balcony they were on was situated over grass and it wasn't a major fall, but it would certainly hurt if she fell her from precarious position.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall," Draco said as he spread Hermione legs and stepped in between them.

Any argument Hermione was going to make was lost as Draco slid her forward slightly and she found herself pressed up against his arousal, straining in his trousers. Trusting that Draco would keep her safe, Hermione slid her hands in between then and slowly pulled down the zipper on Draco's trousers. Plunging her hand into the dark material, she easily found what she was looking for and swept her hand up and down her lover's rock hard length.

"Enough messing," Draco growled, using one hand to remove Hermione's hands from his trousers and free his erection.

In one swift move, he buried himself inside Hermione, and with one of them completely naked and the other fully dressed, they began to make love on the balcony. Down below them on the beach the party was still going strong, and even the fireworks were still exploding above them. However, Hermione and Draco only had eyes for each other, and they were totally oblivious to their surroundings as they raced towards their climax. When it hit them, they both cried out each other's names, and Draco had to tighten his hold on Hermione to stop them both tumbling over the edge of the balcony.

"Maybe we should move this indoors," Hermione chuckled once they'd recovered. "And maybe then, I can undress you."

"Sounds good to me," Draco replied. Picking Hermione up in his arms, he carried her inside the villa where they settled down on the large bed to carry on celebrating the New Year and what they hoped awaited them over the course of the next few months.

* * *

"Watch your step, these rocks are slippery," Draco called, clutching Hermione's hand as she almost went tumbling into the nearby sea.

It was late afternoon and Draco and Hermione were on the very same beach that the previous night had been hosting a New Year's Eve party. The beach was only a short hike from the Malfoy villa, and it was a beach Draco used to play on as a child when his family visited France. However, instead of relaxing on the beach itself, they were scrabbling over some rocks to get to a cave Draco also used to play in.

"Have these rocks always been here?" Hermione asked with a frown as she carefully manoeuvred around a large rock covered with slippery looking seaweed.

"Yeah."

"And your parents let you climb them?" Hermione questioned in surprise. She may have only been getting to know Lucius and Narcissa, but she didn't picture them as the sort of parents to allow a child to undertake such a risky task as climbing over slippery rocks where he could fall and be swept out to sea.

"Father used to climb them with me," Draco replied, flashing Hermione a quick grin. "He may not seem it, but Lucius Malfoy, is quite the adventurer. The summer after my first year at Hogwarts we went to South Africa and he took me cage diving with the Great White Sharks."

"Wow," Hermione said with a low whistle. "And what about your Mother? I can't see Narcissa as the adventuring type."

"She's not," Draco said with a fond chuckle. "She almost strangled Father when she found out we'd been cage diving, and when we were here on holiday she was always warning him that one day we would slip and be swept out to sea."

"But you didn't listen," Hermione deduced.

"Of course not, we're Slytherins," Draco snorted. "Disobeying people is in our DNA. Now come on, the cave is just over this rock here."

Hermione was relieved when she climbed over the rock and found herself on relatively flat stones. A dark cave mouth was etched into the side of the rocks, and Hermione shivered at the thought of entering the darkness. She suspected that when the tide came in the cave would be underwater, and she hated to think what unpleasant surprised awaited them in the cave.

"Come on," Draco urged as he pulled his wand from his pocket and lit the tip with a bright white light.

Following suit, Hermione kept her lit wand straight in front of her as she carefully followed Draco into the cave. Surprisingly, the cave was rather spacious and Hermione was surprised to find the roof was several feet above their heads. Just as she was thinking the cave wasn't as bad as she thought, Draco started to move down one of the smaller tunnels that led off the back of the main cave.

"Where are you going?" she called, not really wanting to follow her boyfriend further into the darkness.

"Just stay there, I'll be back in two minutes," Draco called back.

"Make sure you are, otherwise I'm leaving you," Hermione shot back.

She heard Draco chuckle in response, but if he also said anything she didn't hear it. For a short time she could hear her boyfriend in the tunnel, but then everything went quiet. Taking a few deep breaths, and glancing towards the entrance to remind herself that they weren't trapped, Hermione patiently waited for Draco to return. It was a good couple of minutes before she heard movement in the tunnel, and shortly afterwards, Draco emerged into the cave, a silver cup clutched in his hand.

"Is this it?" Hermione asked, taking the cup from her boyfriend.

The cup was actually the real reason they were in France. It had been one of the objects Voldemort had asked Draco to hide for him, and since they thought they were Horcruxes, they were planning on retrieving them so when the time was right they could destroy them and finally kill Voldemort himself. However, until that time they had to play the part of loyal supporters and it was imperative that The Dark lord didn't find out the true reason for their visit to France, which was one of the reasons they'd coincided their visit with New Year so they'd been able to say they were merely celebrating.

"It is," Draco confirmed. "Is it a Horcrux?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted with a frown. "Dumbledore was the one calling the shots. I assume he had a way of telling if something is a Horcrux or not. Although, I can't see why Voldemort would want to hide this unless it was a Horcrux."

"For now let's assume this is a Horcrux," Draco said, taking the cup back off his girlfriend. "Now let's get out of here before the tide comes in and we get stranded."

"Not a prospect I relish," Hermione said, following Draco out of the cave.

Getting back to the beach was almost as hazardous as reaching the cave, but with Draco's help, Hermione managed to get back to safety unharmed. They then returned to the villa, and while Draco made some herbal tea to warm them up, Hermione studied the silver cup they'd just rescued from the cave.

"I know this cup," she declared as she realised the etching on the front was a picture of a badger.

"You do?"

"Back when I was trapped with the Order, they had me looking into Horcruxes. One of the things they wanted me to do was track down a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. I'm sure this is the cup."

"I can't believe the Order expected you to help them after what they did to you," Draco snarled, unable to hide his hatred of the Order, and in particularly how they're treated Hermione.

"They were convinced that one day I would come around and see what they were doing was for the best," Hermione replied with a grimace. "But let's not get into that right now. I'm now even surer that this is a Horcrux. One of the original ones he made."

"Let's just hope he's been giving me all his new ones to hide," Draco said. To be honest the only real problem in their plan was going to come if they didn't have all of Voldemort's Horcruxes and when they did make a move he was still invulnerable.

"Let's not worry about things we can't control," Hermione said firmly. "We achieved what we came here to do. We got the first Horcrux. We've made the first move. Now let's get this back to the new headquarters and call our first meeting of the year. The final act has begun."


	2. Chapter 2

Slightly less than a week into the New Year the members of Hermione's new rebellion force began to gather at the Malfoy house in London for their first meeting of the year. Hermione had contacted the Weasleys and Neville Longbottom to arrange the meeting, and they'd made sure the word had been passed around everyone who was now a part of the new group dedicated to taking down Voldemort. The only people they didn't pass the word of the meeting onto were the Slytherins, but Draco had made sure that his friends knew when the meeting was being held.

As people arrived they exchanged New Year greetings and briefly caught up on how people had spent the festive period. Hermione herself was inundated with people hugging her and checking she was doing alright after her recent trauma. Assuring the well-wishers she was just fine, Hermione checked everyone else was doing okay. She was particularly worried about the Weasleys, since both their parents and Ron were currently languishing in Azkaban. Officially they were awaiting trial for her kidnapping and would be lucky to see the light of day again, but Hermione knew the chances of them surviving until the trial were slim as Voldemort still intended to have a final pop at Dumbledore and Harry, and the Weasleys would be caught in the firing line. Luckily all the Weasleys seemed to be coping alright, and Hermione could tell they'd banded together to face the worst of things as a family.

As more people arrived they began to gather in the dining room, which was the best place to hold the meetings. Hermione's place was at the head of the table, next to Draco, while the rest of the group gathered around the rest of the long, wooden table. Draco's friends were all sitting down the side of the table next to the blond, and Hermione noticed there was a small gap between the last Slytherin, which was Gregory Goyle, and the rest of the group. Hermione was hoping that in time the rest of the group would come to see that the Slytherins could be trusted, but for now she understood why people were wary of Draco's friends, and especially Draco himself.

"Thank you all for coming," Hermione began once she was sure everyone had arrived. "I know last time we gathered, I mentioned a plan to get rid of Voldemort but didn't elaborate, but now is the time to do so. A lot of the people involved with the Order will already know what I'm about to tell you, but for a few people in this room, what I'm about to say will be brand new information."

Hermione then explained about Voldemort's Horcruxes to the group. She went over what they were, how they were made and how they were the key to destroying him. Most of the older members of the group, who had been heavily involved with the Order, already knew what she was saying but for the likes of Ginny, Neville, her other friends their age and Draco's friends, they were hearing about the way to kill Voldemort for the first time.

"Wow," Ginny remarked with a low whistle when Hermione finished her explanation. "I guess now we know how he survived the night he killed the Potters."

"It was because of his Horcruxes," Hermione confirmed with a nod.

"I do have one question," Seamus Finnigan said, raising his hand as though he were in a classroom. "If Dumbledore knew about these Horcruxes, why didn't he set out to destroy them before You-Know-Who came back? He could have saved us all a lot of problems if he'd done that and stopped him from returning."

"He didn't know about them back then," Minerva McGonagall said quietly, aware that some people might not like her defending the former Headmaster. "It was only recently he discovered that the Horcruxes were the key to defeating You-Know-Who."

"But he did know something had kept You-Know-Who from dying the same night he killed the Potters," Ginny argued. "Why didn't he try and work out what was happening then?"

"He did have a school to run, and at the time You-Know-Who wasn't a major priority," McGonagall replied with a slight shrug, even though she agreed with Ginny that maybe Dumbledore could have done more and done it sooner than he had.

"It doesn't really matter why Dumbledore didn't act sooner, the fact is he worked out what was keeping Voldemort alive, and now we can use that knowledge to defeat him," Hermione said.

"Can we though?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked with a sceptical frown. "Dumbledore was working on the assumption that You-Know-Who had made six Horcruxes, but what if he was wrong?"

"Six," Dean Thomas exploded in shock. "Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"Yeah, didn't you say these Horcruxes contained a piece of his soul?" Seamus asked. "Who would want to split his soul into so many pieces?"

"Both Dumbledore and Harry seemed sure on the number of Horcruxes," Hermione said, for the first time wondering if the information she thought she knew could be trusted.

"Because they've both proved really trustworthy," Charlie Weasley snorted in disdain, as several other people also voiced their concerns.

"Charlie has a point," Bill Weasley remarked. "Do we really want to go forward relying on information that came from two people we now know can't be trusted?"

"We can verify the information for ourselves," Hermione announced, wanting to stop the spread of panic before it got out of hand. "Dumbledore realised what we were dealing with when Harry destroyed the diary which had opened the Chamber of Secrets and almost cost Ginny her life." Briefly pausing, Hermione gave Ginny's hand a reassuring squeeze as she knew the memories of being down in the Chamber of Secrets still haunted the younger witch. "He also realised that Voldemort must have had more Horcruxes, because when Harry destroyed the diary, it didn't seem to have any adverse effect on Voldemort. It certainly didn't stop him from returning two years later."

"But how did he go from realising You-Know-Who had more than one Horcrux, to deciding he had six?" Neville asked.

"He started by looking at Voldemort's past and he found out that when he was at school he'd discussed Horcruxes with Slughorn," Hermione explained. "Slughorn told Dumbledore that he'd warned Voldemort not to mess with such dark magic, but Dumbledore didn't believe him. He thought that Slughorn had told him much more than that. So instead of hiring a new Defence Professor a couple of years ago, he persuaded Slughorn to come back to Hogwarts, where he got Harry to get the real memory from the Professor."

"Albus had an agenda in rehiring Horace?" Filius Flitwick gasped in surprise. "He told all the staff it was because no-one new would take the position of Defence Professor after what had happened to the others."

"He wanted to know what Slughorn knew about the Horcruxes, and he knew that he couldn't do it, so he hired him and ordered Harry to get close to him," Hermione said. "To be fair it worked, and Harry got hold of the real memory. In it Voldemort and Slughorn spoke about Horcruxes, and Voldemort suggested that by splitting his soul into seven pieces he'd be invincible as the number seven is said to have magical properties."

"The number seven can be very powerful," McGonagall confirmed with a nod.

"It seems a bit extreme to me," Fred Weasley remarked with a shrug. "But then again, You-Know-Who is a bit extreme."

"He's not one for doing things by halves," Kingsley remarked. "But how sure are we that the information from Slughorn is accurate?"

"Until it was brought up here, I was very sure," Hermione said. "But as I said, we can check it. All we need is to view that memory ourselves. Maybe the Professors could help with retrieving the memory," she added, looking towards McGonagall and the other Hogwarts Professors that were part of the group.

"We'll do what we can," McGonagall confirmed. "But until then, I take it we're pressing on as though the information is accurate."

"We are," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "And since we know Harry and Dumbledore have been busy, we're left with two Horcruxes to destroy."

"The cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff and his pet snake," Neville said, recalling what Hermione had said earlier. "But how do we find the cup, and how do we get near the snake?"

"Finding the cup is easy," Hermione said with a smile as Draco rose from his seat and opening a cupboard door, placed the silver cup they'd retrieved from France on the table.

"How did you get hold of that?" McGonagall gasped. "It's been alluding the Order for months."

"I hid it in France shortly after taking the mark," Draco answered quietly. "I've also hidden other things."

"Other things?" Charlie repeated. "More Horcruxes?"

"Yes, we think Voldemort's made more," Hermione confirmed, leading to several disappointed groans around the table.

"How many more?" Kingsley asked with a sigh.

"Three," Draco replied. "But unless he's also been hiding some himself, I'm the only person who knows where to find them. Not even The Dark Lord himself can get his hands on them."

"So what's our plan? Gather the Horcruxes, destroy them and then kill You-Know-Who?" Dean asked.

"Precisely," Hermione replied, flashing Dean a smile. "Draco and I will retrieve the Horcruxes and we'll store them in the house. Once we've got them all, we can then come up with a plan to launch an attack on Voldemort. Killing his snake will have to be the last move, but we don't want to destroy his other Horcruxes until we're ready to strike as we don't want to alert him to what's happening."

"That's going to take a hell of a lot of planning," Bill remarked with a low whistle.

"And a hell of a lot of us ready to fight," Charlie added.

"We know, which is why we gathered this group," Hermione said. "I believe we're strong enough to take down Voldemort. But we're going to have to be smart about it. The only way we're going to win is by taking him by surprise."

"So what do we do now?" Ginny asked.

"Draco and I need to gather the other Horcruxes, but we'll have to do it slowly so that he doesn't get suspicious," Hermione explained. "In the meantime, we need to know for sure that Slughorn's memory is exactly as we've been told. We also need to look into how to destroy a Horcrux."

"You mean you don't know how the destroy this thing?" Seamus asked, gesturing to the silver cup that still sat on the table.

"Dumbledore and Harry did all the destroying of the previous Horcruxes," Hermione admitted. "I don't know how they did it. But I do know Harry destroyed the diary by stabbing it with a Basilisk fang."

"Surely there's still some of them at Hogwarts," Fred said. "Down in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Will they still work?" George asked. "The beast's been dead for years."

"Plus I don't know if it was the fang itself that did the damage, or the venom from the Basilisk," Hermione added. "We'll have to look into it."

"I'm sure we can all do our bit," McGonagall said.

"And what else do we do aside from research?" Kingsley asked. "It may have been a quiet Christmas, but do any of us believe that things won't change in the New Year. With Dumbledore in Azkaban, You-Know-Who will start to take over."

"That is exactly what he plans to do," Draco said solemnly. "And believe me, I know how hard this will be for you all to do, but my advice is to do nothing."

"You want us to sit back and don't respond while he takes over our world?" Bill questioned with a frown.

"That's exactly what you have to do if you want to stay alive," Draco advised. "If you fight him, he'll only fight back and kill you. So yes, you may not like what he's going to do, and yes you may want to make your voice heard, but you have to think of things in the long term. We have a plan. A plan that will work if we all pull together and stay strong. So it might mean having to lie low for the moment and having to watch injustices done, but just remember that it's only temporary. We will defeat The Dark Lord, and we will restore peace and justice to our world. It's just not going to happen overnight."

"Well said," Kingsley said, clapping his large hands together. "Draco is right. We have the means to destroy You-Know-Who, but only if we play our cards the right way. I think we can all see that these next few months are going to be tough, but let's remember the big picture. If we fight now, we might win a small battle and lose the war, but by not fighting the small battles we will win the ultimate fight, and at the end of the day, that's the only one that matters."

One by one everyone agreed that no matter what was to come in the next few weeks and months, they would keep their heads and not fight back. They all also agreed to try and find out the information they needed in order to destroy the Horcruxes. Hermione ended the meeting by promising to keep in touch and to arrange another meeting soon, where they could share their progress. The group then slowly began to leave the house, each of them wondering how long it would take to put their plan into action and take down Voldemort once and for all.


	3. Chapter 3

The worst part of the plan for Hermione was having to deal with Voldemort, and act as though they weren't planning on bringing him down. She knew it was probably harder for Draco, as he was required to be in the dark wizard's presence more often than her, and he had to make sure Voldemort was convinced that he was as deadly as he'd ever been. But she honestly did struggle with being in the same room as Voldemort, especially as she had to constantly be on her guard and ensure that she didn't think of anything that might expose their plans to the dark wizard.

When Voldemort summoned her and Draco just days after their meeting in London, Hermione spent a few hours before hand locking away all thoughts of the meeting and what was really going on with her and Draco. Only once she was sure that even if Voldemort read her mind he wouldn't find anything incriminating, did she slip her hand into Draco's and accompany her boyfriend to the meeting.

The meeting was to be held in Lucius's study, and when they entered the room they found Voldemort ensconced behind the large wooden desk. Lucius was relegated to one of the seats in front of the desk, but if he resented The Dark Lord taking his place behind his desk, he hid it well. He seemed perfectly content where he was, and Voldemort looked completely at home settled behind Lucius's desk, where he was clearly the boss of the meeting.

"Do take a seat," Voldemort offered magnanimously to the two teenagers as they entered the room.

Hermione bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from saying something sarcastic about the way Voldemort had taken over Lucius's office. Instead she sank into one of the empty seats, with Draco settling into the seat beside her. Even though they were both wondering what the summons was concerning, neither of them spoke as Voldemort scrutinised the pair of them carefully.

"It's time," he finally announced.

"Time?" Draco questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Time to deal with Dumbledore and Potter," Voldemort clarified. "They've now been in Azkaban for several weeks, and I'm confident I now know about every extra security precaution the Ministry have taken in the wake of their incarceration. I just wanted to ask if the pair of you wanted to be a part of it?"

"Why wouldn't we want to be part of it?" Draco asked. "These people kidnapped my girlfriend and faked her death. Because of them, I thought I'd lost her. I want to see them pay."

"It's good to see that darkness is still alive and well in you, Draco," Voldemort remarked with a low chuckle. "But what about Miss Granger?" he asked, turning his piercing red eyes on Hermione. "I do believe you promised to help me bring down Dumbledore and Potter, and from where I'm sitting, you've done exactly that. With your help, they're sitting in Azkaban just waiting for me to finish them off. But is that as far as your involvement goes?"

"Do I genuinely have a choice?" Hermione asked, even though she wasn't sure if Voldemort would tell her the truth.

"Yes, you genuinely have a choice," Voldemort replied. "You're not a Death Eater, and as I've already said, as far as I'm concerned you've fulfilled the promise you made me. Because of the regard I have for Draco, I'm giving you a final opportunity to confront the people who kidnapped you and faked your death. Remember, this will be your final chance as by the time I'm done, Dumbledore and Potter will be no more."

"How involved would I have to get?" Hermione asked.

Even though she wanted revenge, and to be honest she couldn't even bring herself to regret the upcoming deaths of her former friends, she'd never been quite sure if she would have been able to handle completely turning on her friends. With Tonks and Lupin she'd just had to stand back and let Draco handle things, but she wasn't sure she would be able to do the same with the people who'd been closer to her. Part of her thought that she would want to personally hurt them, but another part of her worried that when it came to the crunch she wouldn't have the bottle to actually do anything.

"That is entirely your call," Voldemort told Hermione, "You can come with us, confront them and walk away before anything happens if you wish. You can stay and watch whatever I decide to do with them. You might even want to turn your hand to a bit of torture yourself. The only order I am going to make is that you and Draco are away from Azkaban before they die."

"What?" Draco snapped, his grey eyes flashing furiously. "You can't be serious. After everything they've put me through, I want to see the light leave their eyes. I want to witness their final moments."

"I won't be moved on this, Draco," Voldemort said in a low, dangerous sounding voice. "My word is final."

"May I ask why you've made that decision?" Draco asked through clenched teeth, and beside him, Hermione knew he was working hard not to argue with The Dark Lord.

"It was me," Lucius volunteered, speaking for the first time since the couple had entered the room. "I asked The Dark Lord to make sure the pair of you were safely away from Azkaban when the time came for Dumbledore and Potter to die."

"Why?" Draco spat, turning to his father. "You know how much it means to me to see them suffer for what they did to Hermione."

"And I have every faith that you will make them suffer a fate worse than death before you're through with them," Lucius reassured his son. "But I don't want any comeback on you after the event."

"Lucius is right, and I agree," Voldemort said. "The Ministry is likely going to know I had a hand in their deaths, and until I can take full control, which I'm still a fair way from doing, I have no control over their investigation. The last thing I want, is for you two to be caught in the middle of this and blamed for any part of it."

"They might try and blame me," Hermione said to her boyfriend, understanding where Lucius and Voldemort were coming from. "Even though I've made it clear that seeing justice done in my eyes is to see them sent to Azkaban for life, some people might still think I would rather have seen them killed."

"Which is why at the time of their deaths, the pair of you are going to have cast iron alibis," Voldemort said. "That way if either of you are questioned, you can tell the Ministry exactly where you were when Dumbledore and Potter came to a sticky end."

"And what sort of alibi are we supposed to come up with?" Draco questioned. "In case it slipped your mind, we kept our relationship private. We can hardly be seen out together. That would be even more suspicious, if just as Dumbledore and Potter died, Hermione was seen with a known Death Eater."

"Then you need to provide yourselves with separate alibis," Lucius said. "Each of you go out with friends."

"I don't think I can," Hermione muttered. "I can't leave Azkaban knowing what's going to happen, and then go and see the very people whose family I know are about to die. It's just cruel."

"Then don't use the Weasleys as your alibi," Voldemort snapped. "But if you want to protect yourself, then get yourself an alibi. If you don't and the Ministry then come calling, I won't help you."

"We'll sort alibis," Draco jumped in, giving Hermione's hand a reassuring squeeze. "When for?"

"The weekend," Voldemort answered. "I'm thinking Sunday evening. You've got until then to decide what part you want to play, Miss Granger. If you're coming, I expect to see you in this study at six o'clock sharp on Sunday evening. You can inform me then what sort of role you want to play in proceedings. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a meeting with Bella. It looks like she's on the trail of her cousin. Very soon everyone involved with the plot to kidnap you will be dealt with, Miss Granger."

"Thank you," Hermione said as Voldemort rose to his feet. She wasn't sure if she was grateful to the dark wizard, especially as she thought Draco would have made sure those involved with her kidnapping would have paid anyway, but she knew it was what Voldemort was expecting to hear and she knew that she couldn't afford to upset him or get him thinking that she was too much trouble to have around.

Voldemort briefly inclined his head in Hermione's direction, acknowledging her words, before gesturing to Lucius and together the pair left the room. Once they were alone, Hermione turned to Draco, but before she could say anything, he put his finger over his lips signalling for her to be silent.

"Let's go up to our wing," he said.

"Our wing?" Hermione questioned with a small smile.

"It's what it is," Draco replied with a shrug. "Unless you're planning on moving out."

"Where would I go?" Hermione asked with a laugh. "The Order took my old life away from me. Sorry, but you're stuck with me, Draco."

"Good, because I am never letting you go again," Draco said softly as he pulled Hermione into his arms and gave her a brief kiss.

Hermione could have quite happily stopped in Draco's arms for longer, but she understood his desire to return to his wing of the house. In Draco's wing, or their wing as he'd just called it, they could be ensured of complete and utter privacy. Even though Draco had removed most of the wards he'd erected to alert him to people entering his wing, he'd kept one alert just so no-one could sneak up on them and hear something they shouldn't.

Once they were back in the safety of their own wing, they settled down in Draco's library in front of a roaring fire and Draco called for one of the elves to prepare them some hot chocolate. Only once the elf had brought them their steaming hot drinks and disappeared again did either of them mention the meeting they'd just had with Voldemort.

"So what do you think?" Hermione asked, being the one to broach the topic they both knew they had to talk about.

"I think Father was right to make sure we won't find ourselves accused of being involved in anything," Draco admitted reluctantly.

"But you don't like it," Hermione predicted.

"I don't," Draco agreed with a sigh. "I can see the logic behind the order, and as I said, I think it's the right thing to do. But it's bloody annoying. I wanted to be there when Potter and Dumbledore breathed their last, not to mention the Weasel. After all they put us through, I wanted to see them suffer."

"You can still see that," Hermione pointed out. "I hardly think Voldemort is just going to break in to kill them with a simple spell. They're going to suffer."

"Does that bother you?" Draco asked, thinking he could hear regret in Hermione's voice.

"It should, shouldn't it?" Hermione retorted with a sigh as she gazed into the flickering flames of the fire. "Harry and Ron were my best friends for years. I should be torn up at the thought of them suffering and dying. A good person would be."

"Do not malign yourself for what they've done," Draco said sharply as he put down his mug of hot chocolate and reached for Hermione, turning her to face him. "They orchestrated a plot to kidnap you and faked your death. They caused untold suffering to so many people. They don't deserve your sympathy, Hermione. You have every right to hate them for what they've done to you."

"I understand that," Hermione whispered. "But it's more than hatred I feel for them. I want them to suffer. I want them to leave this world regretting what they did to me and knowing that if they hadn't done it, they would have still been alive. I want them to know what a big mistake they made."

"And they will," Draco assured her.

"But then I have to live with the fact that I've let the darkness in," Hermione confessed. "You warned me, but I thought I could control it. I thought I was in control."

"And you're not?" Draco questioned, taken a bit by surprise by his girlfriend's confession. He'd been thinking that Hermione had been handling things just fine and that focusing on the end result of getting rid of Voldemort was keeping her fears about the darkness at bay.

"Not when it comes to Harry and Ron," Hermione replied. "I watched you torture Tonks and Lupin, and I was surprised by how well I coped. But I never felt the desire to join in."

"But you think you will with Potter and Weasley?"

"Every time I think about them, and the part they played in what happened to me, I get so mad. It makes my blood boil just to think about them. So yes, I'm worried that when I come face to face with them, I won't be able to resist hurting them."

"Then don't," Draco said simply with a shrug of his shoulders. "Believe me, after what they did to you, they deserve everything that's going to be coming their way."

"But then I have to live with what I've done afterwards," Hermione said quietly. "It's easy to give into the darkness at the moment, but life won't always be like this. We're setting out to destroy Voldemort, and when that's done we'll be free. But how can we be free if we can't live with what we've done to get there?"

"Maybe some of us are never meant to be free," Draco retorted coldly as he pulled away from Hermione and turned his own head to stare into the fire.

"Draco, I'm sorry, I didn't think," Hermione apologised, reaching out for her boyfriend as she realised her mistake.

Draco had done way worse than anything she'd done, or even contemplated doing. Here was she worrying about how she would live with doing any harm to Harry and Ron, when Draco had to live with actually killing people. Almost everything she'd just said had been insensitive given Draco's circumstances and she could kick herself for being so selfish.

"You don't have to be sorry," Draco said, his voice still remote and cold. "You have a choice over what you're going to do at the weekend. You can make sure you don't do anything you can't live with. I don't have that choice."

"You do," Hermione whispered. "You didn't always have it, but now you do."

"Now it's too late," Draco snorted as he rose to his feet and went to stand closer to the fire. "I warned you that I was too far gone, Hermione," he whispered into the flames in front of him. "Whether I can live with it or not, I know I have no choice but to make Potter and Weasley suffer as much as I can. I can't walk away like you can. I have to see them punished. I have to see them suffer."

"But at least you don't have to kill them," Hermione offered quietly, not sure if she was saying the right thing.

"And that is the worst thing of all," Draco replied with an annoyed snort. "I should be the one to end their pitiful life, but I won't even be there to witness it. And for the rest of my life, I will have to live with that disappointment. What sort of monster regrets not being able to kill?"

"You are not a monster," Hermione insisted, jumping to her feet and forcing Draco to turn around and look at her. "You keep telling me that you're too far gone, Draco, but I don't see it. Yes, there's a darkness is you I never thought could exist, but there's also a light too. If you were truly a monster, you wouldn't keep trying to protect me. You wouldn't keep trying to warn me about you."

"Even monsters can love," Draco said softly, running his thumb down Hermione's cheek. "I'm too selfish to let you go, Hermione, but we both know it's what you should do. You deserve someone so much better than me. You deserve someone who isn't broken."

"And for this alone I could kill Harry and Ron myself," Hermione snarled. "I hate that they've got you doubting that you're good enough for me. No-one could love you more than me, Draco, and I could never love anyone the way I love you. I'm not going anywhere, and no matter what happens, we're going to be together. I am not going to lose you a second time, and certainly not because of Harry and Ron."

To prove her point, Hermione crashed her lips against Draco's. Eager to remind her boyfriend that she wanted to be with him, no matter what he'd done or who'd he'd become, she began to tear at his clothes. Quick to get the message, Draco helped Hermione to divest them of their clothes and without bothering to move to the bedroom, they sated their sexual desires for each other on the rug in front of the fire.

A couple of hours later they'd finally exhausted their passion, and lying naked and entwined on the rug, Hermione studied Draco's profile as he lay with his eyes closed. Despite the passion of their lovemaking, and the fact that most of the time he was almost his old self, Hermione could see that she would have to keep reminding Draco that he was still worthy of her love. At the moment he was still doubting himself, and Hermione suspected he was just waiting for the day when she announced she was leaving. However, that day was never going to arrive, and she would do everything she could to make sure that Draco never forget how much she loved him, and how they were meant to be together – no matter what the world threw at them. They'd already survived more than most couples and now they were back together, Hermione wasn't going to let anything tear them apart again.


	4. Chapter 4

At six o'clock sharp on Sunday evening, Hermione was in Lucius's study alongside Draco. The pair were both dressed in black and ready for action. They also both had meetings arranged for later that evening with friends. Draco was going out with his friends, while Hermione had arranged to meet Neville, Dean and Seamus for a drink. Even though she disliked the thought of using her friends as an alibi, it was better that using the Weasleys as she wasn't yet sure how many of their family would die that night in Azkaban.

"Ah, you're both here," Voldemort remarked as she strolled into the room followed by Lucius and Bellatrix.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Draco replied coldly. "I just wish I could be around for the final moments of their miserable lives."

"We can't always get what we want, Draco," Voldemort replied with a low chuckle. "You of all people should know that. After all, if I'd given you what you wanted the first time you came to see me, we wouldn't be standing here."

Unable to help herself, Hermione shuddered at Voldemort's recollection of the reason Draco had originally sought him out. It still made her feel horrid when she thought that Draco had been so affected by her 'death' that he'd thought ending his life was his best option. Even now her heart broke for the wizard she loved whenever she was reminded of how low he'd fallen thanks to Dumbledore and the Order. She hated to think what her life would now be like if he'd succeeded in ending his life.

"Stop it," Draco whispered in her ear, knowing exactly what she was thinking about. He could also tell Voldemort knew where Hermione's thoughts were at by the malicious smirk on his lips.

"Are you going to be able to cope Miss Granger?" Voldemort asked, his words sounding solicitous, but his tone revealing he was mocking her.

"I can cope," Hermione replied as she steeled her spine for what was to come.

"And just what will you be doing?" Bellatrix asked, throwing the younger witch a withering glare. "I highly doubt you're up for what we're capable of."

"I want some answers, and then we'll see what I want to do," Hermione replied. "But even if I don't do anything, I can watch."

"You can stomach seeing little Draco's dark side?" Bellatrix mocked.

"I've already seen it and it doesn't scare me," Hermione insisted.

"Then the rumours about your brains are not true," Bellatrix snorted. "You should be afraid of the darkness my nephew has inside of him. It's a rare quality to be so dark at such a young age."

"And let's just hope he still has that quality," Voldemort muttered warningly.

"You needn't worry My Lord," Draco said with a slight lowering of his head. "Nothing has changed."

"We shall see," Voldemort replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Now let's get going. We're meeting the others at the docks."

"Docks?" Draco questioned with a frown.

"Azkaban has always been tricky to get to thanks to its location in the middle of the North Sea, but the new security measures means it's even harder to get close to using magic," Voldemort explained. "We're travelling by boat."

"And then what?" Hermione asked, unable to stop herself from asking questions even though she knew she wasn't really in any sort of position to question The Dark Lord.

"I've got contacts, one of whom is part of the new Azkaban security force," Voldemort replied. "He'll ensure the wards can be breached in just the right place so we can enter the prison undetected."

Hermione wanted to ask more, but she kept her mouth shut as she knew she was lucky to have been answered in the first place. She had to remember that Voldemort didn't trust her, therefore wasn't going to tell her too much. She also had to remember to stay out of trouble as it wouldn't do Draco any good if he had to come to her rescue. What she had to do was be an obedient little girl and allow Draco to prove to Voldemort that having her around changed nothing. If they couldn't do that, they wouldn't get the chance to find and destroy his Horcruxes, and the whole wizarding world would be doomed.

Voldemort gave Draco the co-ordinates of where they were apparating to, but instead of doing the same with Hermione, he placed his hand securely around her arm. Giving her a cold smirk, he informed her it was easier to apparate her himself, but Hermione knew the real reason was that he didn't trust her to know exactly where they were going. Not that she could entirely blame him since she couldn't be trusted, but on this matter, she would have said nothing as the only thing she wanted more than to destroy Voldemort was to make her former friends pay for what they'd done to her and the people she loved by faking her death.

Side along apparition with Voldemort wasn't something Hermione would care to repeat, but she didn't complain as The Dark Lord whisked her away from Malfoy Manor and to a cold dock somewhere on the North East coast of England. A small group of Death Eaters, all in robes and mask so Hermione didn't know who they were, were waiting for them and assured Voldemort that the boat was ready. The boat was a small fishing vessel, which Hermione obediently climbed aboard and settled down in one of the seats towards the back of the boat. When he climbed aboard, Draco joined her and he took hold of her hand as Voldemort gave the order for them to cast off.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, unable to be heard by anyone else other than Hermione due to the sounds of the sea and the boat's engine.

"Just nervous," Hermione admitted. "What about you?"

"Am I nervous?" Draco checked.

"Yes," Hermione replied. "You've got to make sure Voldemort doesn't realise you're not the same cold killer you were a few weeks earlier."

"I hate to disappoint you Hermione, but tonight that's exactly what I am," Draco said. "I won't need to keep up an act for The Dark Lord. I will relish everything I do tonight, and the only reason I won't actually kill anyone is because we're being throw out before the real fun begins. Will you be able to handle that?"

"I handled Tonks and Lupin and seeing what you did to them," Hermione replied.

"That was child's play compared to what's going to happen tonight," Draco pointed out. "They were part of the plan, but they weren't the ringleaders. Dumbledore, Potter and Weasley will bear the brunt of my anger. They're the ones I hate the most."

Hermione could understand Draco's sentiments as the majority of her anger was also aimed towards Harry, Ron and Dumbledore. If what Remus had said was true then Harry had been the one to come up with the plan to fake her death, and if that was the case, Hermione would never forgive him. Although even if he hadn't come up with the plan, he and Ron had still gone along with it and willingly betrayed her and caused so many people untold suffering. And as for Dumbledore, he was the leader of the Order, and regardless of who had come up with the plan, he would have been the one to give the final go-ahead. Hermione was in no doubt that without his say-so a plan like that would never have gone ahead. And for that alone, he had Hermione's hatred and contempt aimed towards him.

After reassuring Draco that nothing he would do that evening would change how she felt about him, Hermione fell silent as she thought about what awaited them when they got to Azkaban. For a long time all she could see around them was the black sea, but slowly a foreboding presence began to take shape directly in front of them. The nearer they got to Azkaban the colder the air got, and Hermione started the see the dark shapes of Dementors in the air above the prison.

"This place is awful," Hermione whispered to Draco as the boat inched closer to the massive rock the dark prison was situated on.

"It is," Draco agreed with a solemn nod.

As the boat very carefully made its way to the part of the island that it was able to dock at without raising any alarms, the passengers in the boat were all silent. When the boat finally came to a shuddering halt, Voldemort issued orders for two of his Death Eaters to stay with the boat.

"Draco and Miss Granger will be back before us," Voldemort said. "When they come back, you're to take them back to the mainland and then return for the rest of us."

"Yes, My Lord," one of the Death Eaters said, bowing to The Dark Lord as he alighted the boat.

Draco helped Hermione from the rocking boat onto the rough terrain of the rocky island Azkaban was built on, and hand in hand they followed The Dark Lord and the Death Eaters he had with them towards the prison. Hermione didn't know where the entrance to the prison was, but Voldemort seemed to be leading them towards a part of the building that was solid brick. When he stopped beside a piece of wall, Hermione craned her neck to see him tap his wand on the wall three times. As the sound of the third tap echoed in the evening air, the wall began to shimmer and an outline of a door appeared. When a door handle emerged from the bricks, Voldemort wasted no time in using it to pull open the newly formed door.

Voldemort led the group into the dark prison, and Hermione found that the door had placed them directly at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Leaving two more Death Eaters to keep watch on the ground floor, Voldemort led the way up the stone staircase. Hermione and Draco had somehow ended up directly behind Voldemort, with Lucius and Bellatrix after them and the final two robed Death Eaters bringing up the rear. Even though Hermione couldn't keep track of how far they were climbing, Voldemort seemed to know exactly where they were going as he passed several doorways and climbed to the very top of the staircase before darting through the doorway at the top.

"Here we are," he said in a low voice as Hermione and Draco emerged into a long corridor, with cells dug into the stone walls on either side of them. "This floor is home to Azkaban's newest residents."

"How many more prisoners are on this floor?" Draco asked, aware that there were more cells than there was recent prisoners.

"None," Voldemort replied. "Only five cells are occupied."

"Which ones?" Bellatrix asked eagerly.

"I don't know," Voldemort informed his lover. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

With a slightly demented sounding chuckle, Voldemort strolled over to the first cell and peered in through the door. It must have been empty as he quickly moved onto the one opposite. That was also empty, but when he peered through the door of the third cell, a loud feminine shriek pierced the air.

"Molly!" Arthur's concerned voice called from the cell opposite his wife's.

"Hello there, old man Weasel," Bellatrix cooed, peering into Arthur's cell.

"What's going on?" Another voice demanded from down the hallway. There was no mistaking it as Dumbledore's voice, and Hermione was mad to hear the authority he was speaking with. It was almost as if he didn't realise that he had no authority any more.

"Albus, how delightful to hear from you," Voldemort cackled, although he didn't move away from Molly's cell.

"Tom," Dumbledore hissed in a low voice.

"And where are your other two inmates?" Voldemort asked as one of the robed Death Eaters located the cell Dumbledore was in, halfway along the corridor. "Speak up Potter, I've got a surprise for you."

"Sod off, I want nothing from you," Harry's harsh voice spat from way down the corridor.

Nodding to Hermione to join him, Voldemort set off down the corridor. He paused to briefly look in on Dumbledore, before carrying on and finding the cell Harry was languishing in. Peering through the hold in the door, he cackled slightly before stepping aside and allowing Hermione to step up to the hole. What she was greeted with was a shabby looking Harry sitting sulkily on a small camp bed on the far side of a small cell.

"Hermione!" Harry gasped, rushing up to the door when he spotted his friend.

"Hello Harry," Hermione whispered. "Surprised to see me?"

"You're with them?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Let's make this easier, shall we?" Voldemort chuckled from the middle of the corridor. "Draco, find the young Weasel's cell."

It didn't take Draco long to locate Ron, who was stuck in the cell almost directly opposite Harry. With the five cells holding prisoners identified, Voldemort set a Death Eater outside of each cell. Bellatrix stayed outside of Arthur's cell, Lucius moved to be outside of Dumbledore's cell, Draco moved to cover Harry, while the two robed Death Eaters covered the cells belonging to Ron and Molly. Hermione then found herself back at Voldemort's side as with a flick of his wand the five doors swung open.

"I'm sure you're not stupid enough to try anything," he remarked as the five prisoners hesitantly stepped into the doorways of their cells, only to find they each had a Death Eater with their wand trained on them.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, warily looking towards Hermione.

"It hurts to be left out of the loop, doesn't it?" Hermione sneered, advancing towards Ron and Harry. "Tell me, why should I answer any of your questions after that way you treated me?"

"We didn't mean to hurt you, Hermione," Harry said softly. "We were trying to save you. We tried talking to you, but you didn't listen."

"I didn't listen because you weren't saying anything worth listening to," Hermione argued. "I wasn't in any danger. At least not from who you were claiming I was in danger from. The only people I was in any danger from, were the people I trusted."

"So what, you've decided to join the dark to get back at us?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"Why not?" Hermione questioned with a smirk. "You kidnapped me, faked my death and let people grieve for me. I think it's only right that I ensured you got locked up so The Dark Lord could get to you easily enough."

"Traitor," Molly wailed.

"No Molly, you lot are the traitors," Hermione hissed, turning to face the older witch. "What you did to me was unforgivable. I am standing here for one reason alone, and that is because you five all betrayed me. You plotted and schemed behind my back, and now I am going to happily watch as you get exactly what you deserve."

"Hermione, don't," Harry pleaded. "You're not this person. You're not evil."

"I wasn't until you hid me away and made the people I love think I was dead," Hermione spat, stalking back towards Harry. "This was your plan, wasn't it Harry? You decided to fake my death."

"I did what I thought was right," Harry whispered, finally seeing the blazing hatred in Hermione's deep brown eyes.

"What was right was honouring my wishes," Hermione replied quietly. "If you'd ever cared for me, you never would have done what you did."

"I did care for you, I still do," Harry insisted. "Please Hermione, we all love you."

"You wouldn't know the meaning of love," Hermione snarled as Draco growled and clutched his wand tighter at Harry daring to say he loved Hermione. "I'm sorry Harry, but you brought this all on yourself. I should have been by your side, helping you defeat The Dark Lord. And you know what Harry, we would have done it. We would have been triumphant."

"We still can," Harry pleaded. "It's not too late, Hermione. We can still beat the dark."

"No Harry, it's too late for that," Hermione replied with a sad shake of her head. "You could have been a hero. Hell, you should have been a hero. But now all that people will remember of you is that you betrayed the best friend you ever had. In years to come if people remember any of your names, it won't be because you were heroes. It will be because you lot are the worst sort of people. You're scum, and I hope the whole lot of you suffer."

"I can guarantee you that they'll suffer," Draco said with a malicious smirk.

"And that is just one of the many reasons why I love you," Hermione said, giving Draco a peck on the cheek.

Harry and Ron's shock was clear to both see and hear, and Ron even accused her of being on the dark side the entire time. However, Hermione was tired of talking, and she thought so little of Ron that she didn't bother defending herself. Nor did she bother to explain that she and Draco had been together since before their stupid idea to kidnap her and fake her death. All she wanted to do now was see the people who wronged her suffer, and then she could leave and start thinking about the future.

"Do you want to do anything to any of them?" Voldemort asked Hermione as she re-joined him in the middle of the corridor, which offered the best view of all five prisoners.

"No," Hermione replied with a shake of her head. "I'm happy to watch and enjoy the show."

"And what a show it will be," Voldemort cackled. "You have my permission to do your worst," he informed the five armed Death Eaters. "Within reason of course," he added, not wanting anyone to get too carried away and actually kill one of the prisoners.

Before they arrived at Azkaban, Hermione was expecting to watch some one on one torturing, but instead she got full on action as the five Death Eaters leapt into action. Even though the five prisoners weren't in shackles, they had no wands and the wards around the prison prevented inmates from doing magic, meaning they were still defenceless against the onslaught that came their way.

Hermione found herself turning from person to person, not sure who to watch. The two masked Death Eaters were favouring the Cruciatius curse on their victims, Molly and Ron. Lucius was also using the curse to torture Dumbledore, but he was also adding in a few extra spells to make sure the headmaster was suffering. Bellatrix was also using a combination of the Cruciatius curse and other spells, as well as her sing-song voice taunting Arthur about what would happen when she got her hands on his wife and son.

However, it was Draco was captured most of Hermione's attention. He was dealing with Harry pretty brutally, and he was the only one adding in physical punishment. Just watching him, Hermione could see all his pain and suffering pouring out on the wizard who was the cause of it, and even though she'd been friends with Harry for years, she was struggling to feel pity for him as he endured her boyfriend's wrath. All she could think was that he was getting what he deserved and that if he hadn't acted so rashly, this wouldn't be happening. At the end of the day he only had himself to blame for the physical pain he was currently in.

While Hermione contented herself to watch, Voldemort joined in the fun, although his focus was more on Dumbledore. The Death Eaters also began switching things up and Hermione noticed that Ron was the only person who suffered as badly as Harry at Draco's hands. At one point her boyfriend even stepped on the leg he'd once broken, causing it to break again with a loud crack and a pitiful howl of pain from Ron.

"And that is the least you deserve, Weasel," Draco growled, making sure the leg was well and truly broken.

By the time Voldemort called an end to proceedings, all five of the prisoners were slumped on the floor. Looking around it was clear that Harry and Ron had borne the brunt of the Death Eater's wrath, especially Draco's. But Dumbledore wasn't in a good way, nor was Molly and Arthur.

"It's time you two were leaving," Voldemort said to Draco and Hermione. "I then want the Weasleys back in their cages. I'm done with them," he said, addressing his two robed Death Eaters.

"I hope you're happy, Harry," Hermione said, crouching down beside her bleeding best friend. "You're to blame for this, just you remember that in these last moments. None of this would have happened if you hadn't decided to kidnap me and fake my death."

Rising to her feet, Hermione then took hold of Draco's arm and all but dragged him from the top floor of the wizarding prison. Without looking back, they retraced their steps out of Azkaban and back to the waiting boat. As the boat set off back to the mainland, Hermione knew that Draco wished he was still inside Azkaban. However, for Hermione, she couldn't be happier to be away from the place. As far as she was concerned, it was all over. Harry, Ron and their cohorts had been dealt with, and Hermione could move on with her life. Now there was nothing more important than finding and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes so they could get rid of him once and for all and return Wizarding Britain to peace.


	5. Chapter 5

Leaving Azkaban without having actually witnessed the end of Potter, Weasley and Dumbledore was pure torture for Draco. He was aware that Hermione felt a sense of relief as they left the dark foreboding prison behind and returned to the main land, but he felt as though he was leaving a job half done. Even knowing that Potter and his cohorts were going to get exactly what was coming to them didn't help ease his mind. If anything it annoyed him even further that he wouldn't be the one to deliver the final blow to any of the main people who'd robbed him of Hermione and changed his life forever.

"We can just go home if you want," Hermione said quietly as they reached the mainland and Draco watched the boat return to Azkaban, wishing he was returning with it.

"We can't," Draco replied shortly. "The Dark Lord gave us orders."

"We could always disobey him," Hermione replied.

"Not if we want him to keep trusting us," Draco said with a shake of his head as he resolutely turned his back on the docks, and the prison that was situated somewhere in the North Sea. "We do as we were told. We each go to our friends and don't leave until father sends us the signal that it's safe."

The signal Lucius would send would cause the pair's wands to silently vibrate, so he'd advised them to store it somewhere they would feel it vibrating. Once they'd had the signal they could be sure that events at Azkaban had run their course, and they couldn't be held accountable for anything that happened. It was then up to them how long they stayed out after that, or if they would just head home upon receiving the all clear.

"Where are you meeting your friends?" Draco asked. "I should make sure you get there safely."

"It's better not to," Hermione replied with a reluctant shake of her head. "The last thing we want is someone to spot us together, not until all this is over."

"Okay, but let me know that you're safe," Draco insisted.

"I will do," Hermione promised as she gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek. "See you soon."

Without further hesitation, Hermione pulled her wand from her pocket and apparated into the darkness. However, Draco made no effort to follow his girlfriend's lead and head to meet his own friends. Instead he slowly turned back towards the dark sea and once again wished he was back at Azkaban. The damage he'd inflicted on Potter and Weasley hadn't been nearly enough, and he was still coiled with unshed anger. He was about ready to snap, and he just hoped no-one wound him up that evening or he wasn't sure he would be able to control himself.

Still standing where Hermione had left him, Draco felt his wand vibrate in his pocket and he knew it was the signal from his girlfriend assuring him that she'd arrived safely at her destination. Pulling his wand out of his pocket, Draco took one last look out at sea before disappearing into the night with a frustrated growl.

When Draco had arranged the meeting with his friends, he'd known that he likely wouldn't be in a good mood, and had warned them in advance in case some of them would rather stay away. However, when he entered the bar, he found all four of his male friends already waiting for him.

"You weren't joking when you said you might not be in a good mood," Blaise remarked as he joined his friends in their corner booth, which he knew would have already been covered by a privacy spell so no-one could hear what they were saying.

"It's that obvious is it?" Draco snorted, picking up a glass of firewhisky from the table and drowning it in one go.

"I'll get us some more drinks," Theo muttered, picking up the glass that had held his drink only moments earlier.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaise asked as Theo and Vince headed off to grab a fresh round of drinks.

"What's to talk about?" Draco questioned bitterly. "Talking won't give me a second chance to do what was denied to me this evening."

"Isn't it a good thing that you didn't kill someone?" Greg ventured warily.

"Not when it's Potter and Weasley I'm talking about," Draco answered darkly, his grey eyes flashing with frustration and anger. "I could live with leaving Dumbledore to The Dark Lord, but it kills me that I had to leave those two losers alive. I wanted to skin the sodding pair of them alive."

Blaise and Greg exchanged nervous glances at Draco's words. Even though they'd gotten used to their friends dark behaviour in recent months, they'd hoped having Hermione back would mean they got their old friend back. And while it had worked to some extent, they were coming to realise that the old Draco was lost to them. They would have to get used to this new, still cold and deadly, Draco. Although neither of them had seen him so dark as he was right this moment. He was practically vibrating with darkness and if they were being honest, he was scaring them slightly.

"Maybe we should discuss something else," Greg suggested as Vince and Theo returned with the drinks.

"That sounds good to me," Blaise agreed hurriedly.

Draco blanched slightly at the slight slivers of fear he could see in his friend's eyes, and he helped himself to one of the glasses of firewhisky and knocked it back in one. Fortunately, Theo was prepared and had asked the barmaid to charm the glasses to top themselves up when they were empty. It meant their bar bill would be huge, especially if Draco kept knocking them back the way he had been, but it wasn't as if any of them struggled with money and wouldn't be able to afford the bill.

While his friends chatted about anything other than the reason for Draco's dark mood, the blond wizard continued to knock back the drinks. Try as he might, he couldn't get his mind off what he was missing out on at Azkaban. He would give anything to be with Voldemort and the others, watching as the life was snuffed out of Potter and Weasley. But instead, he was stuck procuring himself an alibi, growing increasingly frustrated with each passing minute.

Despite the fact he was knocking back the firewhisky, the alcohol wasn't affecting Draco. Nor was it making the time pass any quicker and it was a long couple of hours before he felt his wand vibrating with the message from his father.

"What's wrong?" Blaise asked, noticing that Draco's scowl had suddenly deepened.

"It's over," Draco said with no emotion.

"They're dead?" Theo asked. "All of them?"

"I assume so," Draco replied with a shrug. "I wasn't privy to the exact plans. But I do know, Potter and Dumbledore will be dead. And I would hope that Father would have assured Weasley also bit the dust."

"Then it's over," Blaise said. "Everyone who played a part in the plan to kidnap Hermione has been punished. You should be pleased, Draco."

"I would be even more pleased if I'd been able to play a part in their demise," Draco replied with a sigh as he finished yet another shot of firewhisky.

"You have to let it go, mate," Theo said. "Don't let them win now. Not when you've got Hermione to live for."

"You're right," Draco muttered with a decisive nod of his head. Rising to his feet, he said goodbye to his friends and left the club in order to go home.

Outside of the club he took a few minutes to let the fresh air clear his head. However, it couldn't clear his dark mood. Not even Theo's words, which he knew made perfect sense, penetrated his anger and frustration. Even though a small part of him was relieved that it was over and Potter and Weasley had gotten what was coming to him, a larger part was still steaming over the fact he'd been denied the chance to watch them die. To be honest he wasn't sure how long it would take him to get over the disappointment of missing out on the ultimate revenge on the people who had hurt Hermione the most.

Wondering if Hermione was back yet, Draco headed home to the manor. He landed in his own wing of the manor, and even though he wouldn't have minded talking to his father, he decided to wait until morning. Heading to his bedroom, he paused in the doorway when he found Hermione had beaten him home and was sitting looking out of the window, a silky green dressing gown wrapped around her.

"You're back," she said, smiling softly as Draco entered the room.

"Yes."

Frowning at her boyfriend's short answer, and the tension radiating from him, Hermione got up and walked over to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, even though she had a good idea why Draco was so tense.

"I thought it would help knowing it was over, but it doesn't," Draco admitted. "I'm still angry."

"And I'm still hurt," Hermione said. "Taking them out doesn't change what they did, Draco. We have to live with their actions for the rest of our lives."

"And I'll have to live with the fact I wasn't the one to end their pitiful lives," Draco growled, throwing off his jacket and looking as though he was ready to lash out as something or someone.

"What you need is a distraction," Hermione suggested. "You need to work off your excess energy."

"I'm not sure anything will distract me," Draco spat.

"Want to bet?" Hermione asked teasingly as she untied her dressing gown and let it fall to the floor, leaving her standing in a slinky pair of black underwear.

"Hermione, this isn't a good idea," Draco said through gritted teeth, his grey eyes lapping up the very sexy sight of his girlfriend. Normally he would have been all over her like a rash, but at the moment he didn't have a very strong grasp on his emotions and the last thing he wanted was to hurt Hermione in his tortured state.

"It's a very good idea," Hermione said silkily as she moved closer to her boyfriend.

"I might hurt you," he choked out, unable to tear his eyes from the bra that barely contained Hermione's considerable assets.

"You won't," Hermione replied confidently.

Closing the small gap between them, Hermione pressed her lips against Draco's. The feel of Hermione pressed against him was all Draco needed, and with a low growl his control snapped. Whirling Hermione around, he pressed her against the wall as he roughly kissed her. At the same time his large hands ran down her body, expertly flipping open the front catch of her bra. However, he had no such patience with her knickers and he roughly tore them from her body.

"Stop me now if you don't want this," he ground out, tearing his lips away from Hermione's and looking down at her with stormy grey eyes.

"I want this," Hermione assured him, wrapping her arms around his neck and raising her lips to his ear. "Take me, Draco."

Draco only needed asking once, and crashing his lips back against Hermione's, he began to fumble with his trousers. Hermione helped him unbuckle his belt and push his trousers down his leg. However, Draco was too far gone to bother removing the rest of his clothes, and once his erection was free, he took Hermione up against the bedroom wall.

The coupling was fast and furious, and when he reached his climax, Draco slumped against Hermione. It was only as he was recovering his senses, and realising that he was calming down and accepting not being part of Potter's end, that it occurred to him that he'd been so concerned with his own pleasure that he'd neglected Hermione's.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled against her neck, feeling very much as though he'd used the witch he loved.

"Don't be sorry," Hermione chuckled, her fingers running through Draco's soft hair. "It was what you needed." Already she could see a lot of the tension had left his body and he was slowly backing away from the darkness that had been consuming him earlier.

"But not what you needed," he argued, raising his head to look at his girlfriend. "I used you."

"You didn't use me, I gave you what you needed," Hermione argued. "And the night isn't over yet. You can always focus on me next time."

"I really don't deserve you," Draco said with a soft smile as he pressed a kiss to Hermione's temple.

"You do," Hermione insisted. "And I will not rest until you accept that I love you, and this is where I want to be. I want to be with you, Draco, no matter how dark you get or how much you struggle."

"That's good, because I don't think I can ever go back to how I used to be," Draco confessed. "But you help me fight the darkness."

"So you're feeling better?" Hermione asked tentatively, not wanting to bring Draco's mind back to the reason he'd been so wound up.

"I'm not ready to lose it," Draco said. "But I still think some relaxation is in order. After all, I've got some making up to do."

Giving Hermione a wicked smirk, he swept her up in his arms and placed her in the centre of the bed. Quickly shedding his own clothes, he joined Hermione on the bed and spent the next hour making up for his earlier selfishness. Once Hermione was completely sated, Draco wrapped her in his arms and whispered how much he loved her into her bushy hair.

It hadn't been an easy day, but with Hermione's help, he'd kept his head and hadn't done something he would regret. Although hopefully now they could forget about the past and focus on dealing with getting rid of Voldemort. Maybe then Draco would finally be able to believe he was worthy of Hermione's love, and the fresh start she was so adamant they were going to get once Voldemort was dead.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – Now it's December and the end of the year is fast approaching, I've decided to up the publication of Shattered Trust to 3 times a week – Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I still can't give an exact number of chapters as I'm still working on it, but I do know I'm in the final couple of chapters and the end is very much in sight. I hope people enjoy the extra updates, and I'll let you all know when I've finished the story in case there are any more changes to the schedule as it's my hope to get this story finished before Christmas (but if not, definitely by the New Year).**

* * *

Neither Hermione nor Draco knew what to expect the morning after their little jaunt to Azkaban. They had no idea what had happened once they'd left the prison, so therefore had no idea how soon the authorities would realise that something was amiss. Deciding to have breakfast with Draco's parents, the couple quizzed Lucius to see if he could shed light on what to expect, and when to expect it.

"There's nothing in this morning's edition of The Daily Prophet," Lucius remarked, tapping the morning paper which lay beside his breakfast plate. "But then again, it would have already been printed before events at Azkaban. My guess would be a special edition, released sometime this morning."

"What do you think we should do?" Draco asked. "Will The Dark Lord be likely to send for us?"

"I doubt it," Lucius replied. "When I left him, he was making plans with Bellatrix. My guess will be that he keeps a low profile for a few days, but I'm sure when he's ready to make his next move, he'll send for us."

"Do you think it's safe for us to go to London?" Hermione questioned. "The second the news breaks, people are going to start arriving at the house wanting to know if we know anything. This is going to be make or break for our new group of fighters. If anyone even suspects Draco and I knew of what happened, or worse still were part of it, we'll be abandoned and left to fight on our own."

"How about, I don't tell you anything about what happened after you left, so you can be as surprised by the news as everyone else," Lucius suggested. "The pair of you could even head to London before the news breaks. I'm sure there's some reason you could find to be at the house."

"There's plenty of reasons we could be at the house," Hermione replied.

"Then let's do that," Draco suggested. "That way we're right in the centre of the action. We just have to keep our composure and not let anything slip."

"I'm sure you'll manage that just fine," Hermione said. "I'm not so sure about me," she added unsurely.

"You'll be fine," Draco assured her as he gave her hand a squeeze. "Just keep reminding yourself that Potter and friends got what they deserved yesterday."

To be honest, Hermione had yet to feel any guilt for her part in what had befallen Harry, Ron and the others. Even now when she thought of them, she was still filled with anger over what they'd done to her. Maybe in time she would eventually regret her actions, but as of yet, it hadn't happened. But what she was worried about was being swamped with guilt when she faced innocent people, who would have been hurt by the previous night's activities. Not that she could do anything to change what had happened, she just had to learn to live with her part in things and focus on the future.

Once they were finished breakfast, Hermione and Draco left for the house in London. While Hermione checked the books in the house, in case there was anything useful hidden somewhere, Draco started to make plans for retrieving the other missing Horcruxes. An hour after arriving, the pair were curled up in the front room when an owl tapped on the window and deposited a thin paper onto the windowsill.

"It's the extra edition of The Prophet," Draco said as he retrieved the paper and paid the owl.

Settling back down next to Hermione, he unfolded the paper and together they took in the headline – _**Explosion Rocks Azkaban**_. Under the headline was a picture of the foreboding wizarding prison, and it was accompanied by a short article. The article claimed that the previous evening there had been an explosion at Azkaban and several prisoners had been rushed to hospital. Details were still fairly sketchy, and the Ministry had yet to release an official statement, but the article claimed that at least one person had lost their life in the explosion.

"Well, that didn't tell us much," Draco muttered, flicking through the rest of the rushed edition and found it was just a run-down of known prisoners and speculation over what could have happened at the prison.

"I guess now all we can do is wait," Hermione said, nibbling her lower lip. "Someone is bound to turn up sooner or later."

In fact it was less than an hour before there was a knocking on the door and Neville, Dean and Seamus entered the house, each of them looking totally stunned. Hermione didn't need to ask if they'd seen the extra edition of The Daily Prophet, as it was clear just what had shaken the threesome up.

"Do you know anything more?" Neville asked as the three former Gryffindors settled in the front room.

"No," Hermione answered with a shake of her head. "I still can't quite believe what I've read."

"Is it a genuine explosion?" Dean asked, his attention turning towards Draco.

"You think The Dark Lord had a hand in this?" Draco questioned.

"You have to admit, it's a possibility," Seamus said. "After all, Harry and Dumbledore are in there."

"I guess he could be involved," Draco conceded, acting as though it was the first time he'd thought of such a possibility. "But if he was, I knew nothing of it."

"Did he not react to the news?" Dean questioned.

"I have no idea," Draco replied with a shrug. "Hermione and I were already here when we got the paper, and it's not like he's called for me."

"Would he tell you if he was involved?" Neville asked.

"I doubt it," Draco answered with a snort. "It's not like we're friends. I'm nothing special to him."

"No offence, but you have to mean something to him," Dean retorted. "If you weren't special in some way, he wouldn't be allowing you to be with Hermione."

"I explained, he allows it because he thinks my darkness is too strong for Hermione to break through," Draco said. "But the second he thinks I'm weakening, he'll step in and Hermione will be in danger."

"Which is why we need to get rid of him," Hermione said. "Since we don't know exactly what happened at Azkaban, we can't let it distract us. Has anyone gotten anywhere with finding out how to destroy Horcruxes?"

"McGonagall said she was going to search through some of Dumbledore's old things," Neville said. "She was also arranging to search the school library."

"I wonder if she's found anything," Hermione said. "I only found this one book here, and I don't think it's what we're looking for."

"Did you go in the attic?" Draco asked.

"No, should I have?" Hermione questioned.

"If there's any questionable books in the house, that'll be where they are," Draco replied. "Father wouldn't just leave them lying around for anyone to get their eye on."

"It looks like I'm going into the attic," Hermione said as she rose to her feet. "Does anyone want to join me?"

Neville, Dean and Seamus all agreed to join Hermione and the four of them headed into the attic to search for books. Sure enough there was a couple of boxes full of books, but rather than stay in the attic, they moved the books down into another room. The foursome then set about exploring them, hoping that they would find something to help.

An hour later they'd found a couple of books which Hermione thought were worth a further look. However, their search was interrupted by the sound of someone else arriving. Hearing more than one voice, they headed back to the front room to find Kingsley and McGonagall standing with Draco.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, moving over to stand beside Draco in case he was being accused of anything. If he was, she wanted to make it clear that she was standing with him.

"We thought you might like an update on the Azkaban situation," Kingsley said. "Unless you already know what happened," he added pointedly, glancing towards Draco.

"All we know is what we read in the paper," Draco replied calmly. "And we've already covered the fact The Dark Lord might be involved in whatever happened. But if he was, I know nothing about it."

"Actually, we're not sure he is involved," Kingsley admitted. "Sit down and we can talk."

While Kingsley remained standing in front of the fire, everyone else settled down to listen to whatever the Auror had to say.

"First I need to tell you that Dumbledore, Harry and Ron are dead," Kingsley announced bluntly.

"Dead?" Neville repeated in horror.

"Further tests need to be carried out, but it looks like they died in the initial explosion," Kingsley explained.

"What exactly happened?" Hermione asked, eager to find out just how The Dark Lord had made cold-blooded murder look like an accident.

"I don't know if you're aware, but when Dumbledore and the others were sent to Azkaban the wards around the floor they were been held on were strengthened," Kingsley said. "There were genuine fears that Dumbledore would have the ability to escape. Even with the anti-magic charms applied to prisoners, it was a concern that he was still talented enough to escape."

"Are you trying to say Dumbledore caused the explosion?" Dean asked in bewilderment.

"It's certainly looking that way," Kingsley said with a nod of his head. "It seems that even with the extra precautions, he was still attempting to use wandless magic to escape. Whatever magic he did manage to do, created a hole in his cell wall. But it seems that when he tried to enlarge the hole to get out, his magic reacted to the extra wards and there was an explosion. The entire floor was caved-in, and it was a miracle anyone survived."

"There were survivors?" Seamus asked.

"Molly and Arthur were still alive when we reached them," Kingsley said. "They were both rushed to St Mungo's, but last I heard Molly wasn't likely to survive."

"Do the rest of the family know?" Hermione asked. To be honest it was the rest of the Weasleys who were her concern, and she wished they hadn't had to be hurt because of their parents and brother.

"They're at the hospital," McGonagall said. "I escorted Ginny there myself. I'm going back when I'm finished here."

"And just what are you doing here, Professor?" Draco asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but there's a reason you're here, isn't there?"

"There is," McGonagall answered with a nod. "Kingsley has told you what the Ministry thinks happened, and while I can well believe it of Albus trying to escape, I can't help but wonder if there was something else going on. I can't ignore the fact that the explosion happened on the floor where the people involved with Hermione's kidnapping were being held, and aside from some minor injuries to prisoners on lower floors, they were the only people hurt."

"You're asking if I did this," Draco stated, keeping eye contact with his former Professor.

"I could certainly understand why you would hate them," McGonagall said softly. "They tore your life apart, Draco. They shattered your world, and changed your life in such a terrible way."

"You're right, I do hate them," Draco replied honestly. "And under other circumstances, I might have gone after them. But I won't do anything to risk losing Hermione. I contented myself with the fact they were in Azkaban and would never see the light of day again. As far as I was concerned, they were out of our lives. I didn't touch them, Professor. Whatever did happen, I wasn't involved."

"I believe you," McGonagall said as she rose to her feet. "I'm sorry for doubting you Draco, but I had to know."

"I understand," Draco replied, giving McGonagall a small smile. "In your shoes, I would have been suspicious of me as well."

"I should be getting back to the hospital," McGonagall said. "As Kingsley said, Molly isn't likely to survive. With any luck, Arthur will pull through. But either way, those children need my support."

"Send them our love," Hermione said. "I'm not sure it's appropriate for me to go to the hospital, but tell them that they're welcome here whenever they want."

Promising to pass on the message, McGonagall headed back to St Mungo's. Once she was gone, Hermione re-focused on Kingsley and asked about Harry and Ron, and what exactly had happened to them.

"It seems as though they were hit by falling debris when the explosion occurred," Kingsley explained. "Both of them were buried under a lot of rubble, and I have to say, they weren't in the best shape when they were pulled out."

"It may sound horrible, but I'm not sure I can be too upset by the news," Hermione admitted in a low voice. "They were my best friends for years, but yet they betrayed me in the most terrible way. They killed our friendship the day they faked my death."

"No-one is expecting you to be broken-hearted at the news," Kingsley admitted. "I think given what they've done recently, it's hard to remember what they were once like."

"Maybe in time I can remember the good things," Hermione said. "But right now, I'm numb. Is it stupid that all I can think about is how they've escaped justice? I now won't have my day in court. I won't get to look them in the eye and confront them over what they did to me. I wanted them to rot in jail."

"Fate obviously had other plans," Kingsley said as he also got to his feet. "But I should be getting back now. I just wanted to let you know what was happening. I think over the next few hours, the place is going to get pretty busy. I'll be back when I can, but I just thought it was best to let you know what was happening, rather than leave people to speculate."

Thanking Kingsley for his consideration, Hermione saw the Auror out of the house. What she really wanted to do was talk to Draco, and ask if he thought that the truth would still come out. But Neville, Dean and Seamus were still around and it was clear that they had no plans to leave any-time soon. So instead, Hermione returned her attention to the books they found in the attic, fully aware that other people could be arriving and it might be later that evening before she got some time alone with Draco to discuss events and ponder on what was going to happen now that Dumbledore, Harry and Ron were dead.


	7. Chapter 7

Lying on a red and black chequered blanket, her head resting on Draco's toned torso, Hermione watched the clouds drift across the light blue sky. The remnants of their picnic was packed into a wicker picnic basket beside them. It had been a lovely afternoon, and it had enabled Hermione to relax for the first time since Harry and Ron had been dealt with. However, the couple weren't just in Ireland for a romantic break, they had a reason to be visiting the Emerald Isle.

Even though they were staying in a small country hotel, they were in Ireland to visit the Black property where Draco had hidden one of the Horcruxes. However, they'd decided that it was safer not to stay in the house as they didn't want to rouse Voldemort's suspicions. As it was it had taken all of Draco's persuasiveness to convince Voldemort that they just wanted to spend some time together, and the reason for their break wasn't anything to do with Hermione trying to lure him away from the dark. In the end he'd convinced Voldemort he was still useful to him by reminding him that if he'd had his way, he would have been the one to kill Harry and Ron.

As for the newly reformed Order, they knew that Draco and Hermione were retrieving a Horcrux, and while the couple were away, a small group were planning on heading to Hogwarts to retrieve some of the Basilisk fangs. Their research hadn't proved conclusive on whether it was the fangs or venom which would destroy a Horcrux, so it had been decided to retrieve some fangs and purchase some venom, and use both together when it was time to destroy a Horcrux. Although that was still a fair way off, as not only did Hermione and Draco have to retrieve the rest of the Horcruxes, but a plan had to be made about how to engineer a final showdown with Voldemort.

"We really should be going," Draco said with a sigh, his fingers running through Hermione's thick hair.

"Can we not stay here a bit longer?" Hermione asked. "It's so peaceful."

"It is," Draco agreed. "But once we've got the Horcrux, we can spend the rest of the weekend in peace."

"Okay," Hermione agreed with a sigh as she sat up. "Will it take us long to get the Horcrux?"

"No," Draco replied as they got to their feet and he rolled up their blanket. "The cottage is only a forty minute walk from here, and I know exactly what I'm looking for when we get there."

"We're walking?" Hermione asked in surprise. Even though they'd never discussed how they would get to the house owned by Narcissa's family, Hermione had assumed they would be apparating.

"It's a nice day, and the exercise will do us good," Draco replied.

"We get plenty of exercise," Hermione retorted with a cheeky smile.

"You can never have too much exercise," Draco shot back, returning Hermione's smile.

"That's good, because I thoroughly enjoy our exercise," Hermione teased.

"I should bloody well hope you enjoy it, or else we're doing it wrong," Draco joked.

Laughing lightly, and feeling more relaxed than she had for months, Hermione slipped her arm through Draco's and they began to head towards their destination. As they walked the light-hearted mood continued, but the nearer they got to the cottage and the nearer they got to their real reason for being in Ireland, the more serious they became. By the time they were only ten minutes away from the cottage, the conversation had worked its way back towards Harry and Ron and what had happened at Azkaban.

Shortly before they'd left for Ireland, the Ministry had announced that they were happy with their initial investigation into events at Azkaban. As far as they were concerned, Dumbledore had caused the explosion which had killed him, Harry and Ron. Molly had also since succumbed to her injuries and passed on, while Arthur was in a coma and at the moment there was no way of knowing if he would ever wake.

"What do you think he's going to do now?" Hermione asked her boyfriend.

"Exert his power," Draco replied. "He's been increasing his influence for months, but now he's finally dealt with Dumbledore he'll push even harder. I predict that he'll have full control of the Ministry within a few months."

"Do you think we'll be ready to take him out before then?"

"I don't know," Draco admitted with a slight shrug. "First we have to find all the Horcruxes, and be sure we know how to destroy them. Then we need to make plans for some sort of final showdown before we can risk destroying them. It's not going to be easy, Hermione."

"I know, but we might have to move as quickly as we can before he decides to get rid of me," Hermione said.

"Do you think I would let that happen?" Draco asked, coming to a stop and halting Hermione beside him. "I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I meant it. I will not let him lay a finger on you."

"I know you would do your best to defend me, but we both know that the time will come when he considers me a liability," Hermione said. "He's allowed me to stick around because it hasn't affected you. But with Dumbledore and Harry gone, he no longer needs me. He'll want rid of me before I start to influence you and erase your darkness."

"As we've already discussed, even you can't change me back into the wizard I once was," Draco said. "The darkness is too much a part of me now."

"I might not be able to take your darkness away, but even you can't deny I can help it fade somewhat," Hermione argued. "He doesn't want your darkness to fade, Draco. If anything, he wants you even darker. I've seen it in the way he looks at you. He sees something in you he likes, something he wants to nourish. Sooner or later he's going to want to get rid of me."

"Then we'll have to deal with him before that time comes," Draco said decisively, his grey eyes flickering with the darkness Hermione was coming to accept as part of her boyfriend.

"I agree, but I just wanted to be sure you were aware that we might have to try and move at a decent speed," Hermione said. "I know when we first discussed this we said we were going to take our time, but we are going to have to be careful we don't take too long."

"We won't," Draco assured her. "I'm sure we can find reasons to go away another couple of times in the coming weeks. But for now, let's focus on getting our hands on this Horcrux. The house is just over this next hill."

Returning to the matter at hand, the pair continued on their journey until they reached a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. Stopping them at the garden gate, Draco removed his wand and easily disabled the wands surrounding the property.

"Once inside, be careful what you touch," Draco warned. "Merlin knows what the family have bobby-trapped."

"They've booby-trapped their own house?" Hermione questioned as she followed Draco down the garden path towards the cottage.

"The Blacks aren't exactly normal, Hermione," Draco replied with a low chuckle. "But don't worry, we shouldn't be in here for more than five minutes."

Even so, Hermione was extra careful as they entered the cottage and she followed Draco into the front room. The back wall was lined with books, and Draco made his way straight towards the shelves. Pulling up a nearby stool, he climbed on it and began to run his fingers over the titles on the very top shelf.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Hermione asked.

"One of these books is fake," Draco replied. "I'm just hoping I can remember which one. I do remember it was on the top shelf."

"How did you know it was fake in the first place?" Hermione asked as she peered around the room, being careful not to touch anything.

"I've heard rumours that the Blacks have several fake books in every property they own," Draco replied. "It's a good hiding place. So when I came to hide one of the Horcruxes here, I tested the books to find a fake. But I can't for the life of me recall what the fake book was called."

"It's not like you thought you needed to remember it," Hermione remarked with a shrug.

"It's not that," Draco admitted with a grimace as he turned back to his girlfriend. "Last time I was here, I was pretty much a zombie. I didn't think about the title, because I didn't care. The only thought in my head back then was when I would next see battle, and whether luck would be on my side and I would finally get what I wanted."

"I rather think luck was on your side," Hermione said, trying not to shudder as Draco once again brought up his suicidal tendencies. Even though she knew it had happened, it made her feel ill to think of Draco in so much pain that he thought death was the only way out.

"I didn't think so at the time, but it was," Draco replied with a wry smile. "Something kept me safe long enough to be reunited with you."

"And now we're back together, nothing is going to tear us apart again," Hermione said with determination. "So get on and find the book, so we can get the Horcrux back home and focus on retrieving the rest."

"Yes boss," Draco chuckled as he turned back to the books.

Since Draco couldn't recall which book he was looking for, he started at one end of the shelf and began pulling them off the shelves to examine. About halfway along the line, he let out a cry of victory as he opened a book about astrology and found an ornate brooch nestled in a hole cut into the centre of the book.

"Got it," he informed Hermione as he passed her the brooch.

"I wonder what's so special about this," Hermione mused as Draco returned the book to its rightful place and used magic to replenish the dust so it wasn't obvious that the books had been disturbed.

"Salazar Slytherin," Draco said as he replaced the stool as well. "All the new Horcruxes have some sort of connection with Slytherin. I spent weeks tracking some of them down."

"You found this?" Hermione asked.

"I found them all," Draco replied. "I found them and informed The Dark Lord. He would then take them, before bringing them back to me for me to hide."

"It's madness to trust someone else with something so precious," Hermione said. "I wonder if he realises what a risk he's taken?"

"To be fair, it wasn't a risk as long as you were dead," Draco pointed out. "Before you came back, I had no desire to really work out what I was hiding and how to use them against The Dark Lord. Besides, I think he half thought I would end up dead and their hiding places would die with me."

"I don't know, you were starting to get curious," Hermione argued. "You made notes of what you'd hidden and where, even before you knew I was alive."

"Okay, maybe I was starting to get curious," Draco conceded. "But I never would have tried to work out what they were and why he wanted them hidden. I know you don't like to think of me in such a bad way Hermione, but without you I was a mess. I wasn't in any sort of state to work out The Dark Lord's deepest secrets."

"You're right, I don't like to think of you in that state," Hermione admitted. "And maybe you never would have worked out what was going on if things had been different, but they're not. We know about the Horcruxes now, and we know that we need to get rid of them."

"Let's hope the others are having some luck with the basilisk fangs," Draco remarked as he began to cover their tracks as they headed back out of the cottage.

"I just wish we could find out if we need the fangs, or if it's the venom that will destroy the Horcruxes," Hermione said.

"As long as we can get both, it shouldn't matter," Draco said. "If we use the fangs dipped in venom hopefully it'll work."

"I hope so, because we can't seem to find anything else," Hermione replied. "And I know there was nothing in the research the Order had me looking at during my kidnapping that could help."

"That's because they didn't need to know how to destroy Horcruxes," Draco pointed out. "Dumbledore may have been a bastard, but he knew what he was doing on this occasion."

"I just wish I'd thought and asked Harry when I was still trapped," Hermione said with a sigh. "He was so desperate to get on my good side, that I think he would have told me anything."

"It's too late to ask him now," Draco returned with a slight growl. Even though it had been a couple of weeks since events at Azkaban, he was still smarting from missing out on seeing the life leave the people who had orchestrated Hermione's kidnapping.

"We're just going to have to have faith that what we can do is enough," Hermione said as Draco re-erected the wards surrounding the cottage.

"It will be," Draco said confidently. "Now let's get this brooch back to safety."

"You want to leave Ireland? What happened to the rest of our weekend?" Hermione asked with a pout.

"I meant let's get it back to the hotel," Draco replied with a low chuckle. "Between us we have enough magical skill to protect it until we can get it home. But I have no intention of going home yet. I thought we could make the most of the weekend and get some extra exercise."

"You and your exercise," Hermione laughed.

"Are you saying you don't want to exercise with me?" Draco questioned.

"Of course not, bring on the exercise," Hermione retorted with a wide grin.

Taking hold of Draco's hand, Hermione allowed him to apparate them back to the hotel they were staying at where they secured the Horcrux and set about enjoying the rest of their weekend. They'd done their part, so all they could hope was that things had gone as smoothly at home and when they returned they had basilisk fangs ready to use.


	8. Chapter 8

While Draco and Hermione were in Ireland, the group who were going to retrieve the Basilisk fangs were busy at Hogwarts. It had taken quite a while to decide who would be involved as everyone was eager to be of some assistance. But in the end it was decided Neville, Dean and Seamus would do the task with the help of Ginny, Fred and George.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Ginny?" McGonagall asked gently when the group arrived in her office to carry out their mission.

All the Weasleys were in mourning for their brother and their mother, with their father still in critical condition, but it was Ginny who seemed to be taking the losses the most heavily. Her older brothers were dealing with the more practical side of things, and even Fred and George were able to keep themselves occupied, but often for Ginny there was nothing for her to do but sit and dwell on the people she'd lost. Unless of course she was going to return to school, but everyone knew that would be pointless as she would never be able to focus to do any work.

"I want to do this," Ginny insisted, pushing aside her grief and focusing on the task in hand. "Besides, we discussed this. I'm the only person who's actually been down there."

There had been a bit of debate over what to expect down in the Chamber of Secrets, as aside from Ginny the only other people to have been down there were either dead or had no memory. Although they did have the stories Harry and Ron had told about their adventures down in the Chamber of Secrets.

"But you don't have any memory of the incident," Seamus gently reminded the red-headed witch.

"I don't," Ginny agreed. To be honest whole chunks of her first year at Hogwarts were missing from her memory from when she'd been under the influence of Voldemort's diary, and her time down in the chamber were among the events she had no recollection of. "But I'm still the only person to have been down there. I might not be much help, but maybe once I'm down there something useful will come back to me."

"Just as long as you're sure that you're ready," McGonagall said softly. "No-one wants you to push yourself, Ginny."

"I'm ready for this," Ginny firmly announced. "Let's get on with it."

In preparation for the mission, McGonagall had placed the girls bathroom where the entrance to the chamber was located out of bounds, and she'd even banished Moaning Myrtle from the room. That meant the group were able to prepare to get down into the chamber in peace, and they knew they wouldn't be disturbed while they were busy.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," Neville called once they were in the bathroom and the twins started unpacking the equipment that would get them down to the chamber.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"The entrance was sealed up," Neville replied. "How do we open it?"

"McGonagall has already unsealed it for us," Ginny said as she stepped forward to find the right tap. "Or at least she's undone the magic she and the other Professors used to close the entrance all those years ago," she muttered, her fingers finding the tap with the snake winding around it and tracing the cool metal. "I think it now opens as normal."

"Normal as in speaking in Parseltongue?" Dean questioned with a frown. "Didn't Harry say that was how he opened the chamber?"

"He did," Neville confirmed with a nod of his head.

"So how did you open the chamber, Ginny?" Fred asked his little sister.

"The same way," Ginny replied, turning her head to look at the boys. "But I had him in my head. I don't know Parseltongue now."

"My gran always says that once you've done something before, the ability is always with you, even if you think you've forgotten how to do it," Neville said.

"But I never knew how to do it," Ginny argued. "I'm not a Parselmouth, Neville. I was merely a vessel for him to use in order to carry out his wicked deeds."

"Whether you were a vessel or not, you still spoke the language, Ginny," Neville said. "The ability is still inside you."

"Where?" Ginny asked pleadingly. "How do I find it, Neville?"

"I don't know," Neville admitted with a sheepish shrug. "But you're our only hope, Ginny. I don't know anyone else who could get us down there."

"Neville's right, you have to try Ginny," George urged his sister. "Just relax and try and remember."

"I've never tried to remember before," Ginny admitted in a quiet voice. "I've never wanted to remember."

"Ginny, you're safe," Fred said gently as he took hold of his sister's hand. "We're all here with you. Not one of us will let anything happen to you."

"Go on," Neville coaxed, giving Ginny a warm smile. "We all believe in you."

With the support of her brothers and friends, Ginny once again reached for the tap with the snake curled around it. Closing her eyes, she allowed her fingers to trace the shape of the snake as she cleared her mind and just tried to relax. For the longest time nothing happened, but rather than give up, Ginny continued to stroke the tap and focus her mind on events of six years ago.

When it did happen, Ginny was unaware that she'd begun to speak in a low hissing sound that made no sense to the boys she was with. She only realised that it was working when Neville squeezed her shoulder and whispered in her ear how proud he was of her.

"I did it," she declared, opening her eyes to find a black cavern appearing in front of her.

"Nice one, Gin," Fred said, flashing his sister a quick grin. "Come on, let's get moving."

Given the stories Harry and Ron had told over the years, they knew getting down into the chamber wouldn't be a problem as they could just slide right down to the bottom. However, they would have no way back up as unlike six years ago, Fawkes wouldn't be coming to their rescue. Luckily the twins had created a couple of sets of expandable stairs, which they would use to enter and exit the chamber.

"We haven't had a lot of time with these, so they're pretty much prototypes," George explained as he produced a plastic block from his bag. "They need stabilising the entire time we're using them, and I think we need to retract them once we're down. We don't want the magic to fade while we're down there and find ourselves unable to get back up."

"Don't worry, Dean and I know what we're doing," Seamus assured the twins and Fred also produced a plastic block of his own.

It had already been decided that Dean and Seamus would stay topside while the Weasleys and Neville ventured down into the chamber. The two boys had also been working with the twins, so they knew how to keep the stairs stabilised and how to retract and extend them.

"Let's get going then," Fred announced.

Working with Dean and Seamus, the twins set up a base for the stairs and Neville and Ginny watched in amazement as a simple spell sent multiple plastic blocks falling down into the blackness of the chamber, each block arranging themselves in a stair pattern.

"Cool," Neville remarked, lighting his wand and peering down into the darkness where two staircases were now present.

"Just remember, there's no handrail, so be careful," George warned. "Take it slow and steady."

With their wands lit, the foursome slowly began to make their way down the magical stairs. Not only was there no handrail, but the stairs themselves were fairly slippery. However, the foursome made it down without incident and once they were safety on solid ground, Fred called up for the stairs to be retracted.

"I do think we need to rethink the materials we use. That was a pretty hazardous journey," George said to Fred as their stairs began to fold in on themselves and retract back to the roof of the cave.

"Yeah, we need a rethink," Fred agreed with a nod.

"You can do that later, for now let's get to the actual chamber," Ginny said.

"Is this not it then?" George asked, holding his wand aloft so they could see.

"No, the chamber is through there," Ginny said, pointing towards a wall of broken rocks and rubble.

"How are you so sure?" Fred asked.

"Ginny's right," Neville said. "I've heard this story dozens of times. This is where Lockhart tried to obliviate Harry and Ron and thanks to Ron's broken wand, he brought the entire thing down on top of them. Ron and Lockhart were caught on this side, and Harry was on the other side."

"So we have to tunnel our way through?" Fred questioned, thankful that his backpack contained a foldaway shovel.

"That won't be necessary," Ginny called from where she'd carefully climbed up onto the rocks. "There's a hole here. Ron made it for when Harry and I returned. We can get through here."

With Ginny leading the way, the foursome squeezed through the hole at the top of the cave-in and clambered down the other side. They then carried down the narrow corridor until they reached a large circular entrance, which was blocked with a metal door covered in snakes.

"It's your time to shine again, Ginny," Neville said, moving to stand in front of the door and bringing Ginny with him. "And we're still right here with you," he added when he noticed Ginny was shaking slightly.

"This is it," Ginny whispered. "This leads to the actual chamber. I almost died in there."

"But you didn't," Fred said as he and George joined Ginny and Neville in front of the door. "And do you want to know why?"

"Because Harry saved me," Ginny retorted. It still hurt to say Harry's name, and even though he was dead she just couldn't forgive him for what he'd done to Hermione, but nor could she forget all the good he'd done before that, and that included saving her life.

"You survived because you're strong," George informed his sister. "You-Know-Who didn't use you because you were weak, he used you because you were strong. And you can be strong now, Ginny."

"You can do it," Neville whispered, feeling the confidence start to surge in his friend.

Drawing strength from her brother and Neville, Ginny closed her eyes and once again focused on the time in her life when she was under Voldemort's control. Slowly a low hissing began to emerge from Ginny's lips and as the sound grew louder the snakes on the door in front of them began to move. By the time the door creaked open, Ginny's eyes were wide open and Parseltongue was flying from her lips as though it was her native language.

"Creepy but cool," Neville said, flashing Ginny a grin.

"It's way creepier having it come out of your mouth," Ginny confessed with a small smile.

"You're doing great, Gin," Fred said, squeezing his sister's shoulder as he led the way into the chamber, with George on his heels.

Neville and Ginny followed the twins into the chamber at a slower pace and when they arrived in the centre of the room, directly under a large carving of what was presumably Salazar Slytherin, Ginny halted. Over to the side of the room was the skeletal remains of the Basilisk, but Ginny was only vaguely aware of the discussion her brothers were having about the creature decomposing faster than normal due to the magic flowing in its veins. All Ginny could think about was the fact that last time she'd been in the chamber six years ago, she'd been moments away from death. This could have been her final resting place if Harry and Ron hadn't found her and saved her.

"Are you okay?" Neville asked in concern, wrapping his arm around Ginny, who was visibly shivering. The twins were already starting to gather the basilisk fangs, but Neville doubted they would begrudge their sister some time to gather her thoughts.

"This is the place of my nightmares," Ginny confessed. "Not that I knew what it looked like. But I think this is worse than what I imagined. I never thought I would be down here again, Neville."

"But this time you're not alone, and you're not in any danger," Neville assured her. "I won't let anything happen to you, Ginny."

"Thank you," Ginny whispered, leaning her head against Neville's shoulder. "I also can't stop thinking about Harry and Ron. This place is so inextricably linked to the story of how they saved me. I just can't stop thinking about it. How could they risk their lives for me, but yet a few years later be happy to destroy the life of someone they claimed to love? What happened to the heroes who saved my life, Neville?"

"I think they were still in there, but they just got so caught up in wanting to save Hermione that they didn't realise that they were the ones she needed saving from," Neville said.

"Do you hate them?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know," Neville admitted with a sigh. "I hate what they did to Hermione, and if they were still here, I never would have forgiven them. But at the same time, I can still remember the people they used to be. I can still remember that they were my friends."

"I think I do," Ginny confessed in a small voice. "But I feel so bad about it. How can I hate dead people? Why can't I see past their mistakes and remember the good things about them?"

"I think that's harder to do because it was their mistakes that dominated the latter part of their lives," Neville said. "The truth is, they didn't die as heroes. They died as villains, and they never got the chance to redeem themselves."

"Do you honestly believe they could have redeemed themselves?" Ginny asked.

"It was unlikely," Neville admitted. "And I doubt there was anything they could have done that would have made it up to Hermione. They destroyed her life, and caused so much pain to the people who loved her. How could anything they might have been able to do make up for all that pain?"

"It couldn't," Ginny replied with a sigh. "Can I ask you a question, Neville?"

"Anything," Neville said, giving Ginny a warm smile.

"Do you think Dumbledore really was responsible for what happened at Azkaban?"

"You doubt the Ministry's findings?"

"I don't know," Ginny admitted. "I can certainly see him wanting to escape. He wasn't exactly the sort of wizard who would have taken imprisonment lying down. But at the same time, I can't see You-Know-Who not wanting to do something. Dumbledore and Harry were like sitting ducks for him. They had nowhere to hide, and they couldn't run."

"You think You-Know-Who was involved?" Neville asked.

"Has it not crossed your mind?" Ginny questioned.

"It has," Neville admitted. "And the truth is, I don't know what happened. I don't know if it was just Dumbledore trying to escape and miscalculating, or if the dark were involved somehow. But I doubt we're ever going to know for sure."

"If the dark were involved, do you think Malfoy was there?" Ginny questioned. "If this had happened before we knew about him and Hermione, we would have all thought he would have been there."

"I was there when he swore to McGonagall he wasn't involved, and I believe him," Neville said. "I think that even if You-Know-Who was responsible for what happened at Azkaban, he would have kept Malfoy out of things. I don't think he would have wanted to risk Malfoy being influenced by Hermione."

"And when do you think he's going to realise that's exactly what is happening?" Ginny asked as she nervously nibbled on her lower lip. "I know Malfoy thinks he can protect Hermione, but how long do you really think he can do that for? Sooner or later You-Know-Who is going to want rid of her."

"Then we need to be ready before that happens," Neville replied, the determination evident in his voice. "We need to start making plans for the final battle."

"Will we win?" Ginny asked as her brothers called over to let them know they had all the basilisk fangs.

"We will," Neville replied with a confident nod of his head as he took hold of Ginny's hand and led her out of the Chamber of Secrets and back towards the real world where the final battle was fast approaching, whether they were ready or not.


	9. Chapter 9

The day after Hermione and Draco returned from Ireland a meeting of the new Order was in session. Almost everyone involved with the Order was present at the house in London as it was confirmed that they had yet another Horcrux, Basilisk fangs and Basilisk venom on its way.

"So what now?" Charlie asked as the latest Horcrux was safely secured until the time was right to destroy it. "How many more do we have to retrieve?"

"Two," Draco answered. "And then there's Nagini."

"And we're sure that's the lot?" McGonagall checked.

"Unless he's made more that no-one knows about," Draco replied with a slight shrug. "But that's a chance we're going to have to take. All we can do is work on the information we have, and hope that we're right."

"And when do you think we'll be ready to move?" Bill questioned. "I don't know if anyone's noticed, but since what happened at Azkaban things have started to change."

"The Ministry is rapidly filling up with supporters of You-Know-Who," Kingsley confirmed. "The Minister's senior advisors are slowly being replaced by Death Eaters, and I'd bet that a change of Minister is rapidly approaching."

"It is," Draco confirmed with a nod. "I don't know much, but I do know he's starting to grow impatient with the speed things are moving. He wants power, and he wants it now."

"Does that include Hogwarts?" McGonagall queried. "I've been summoned to a meeting at the Ministry next week. Am I about to lose my job?"

"I was planning on mentioning that," Draco said. "The Dark Lord plans on replacing you with Severus. Severus has convinced him that a widespread change of staff isn't necessary for the moment, but his ultimate plan is to have the school entirely run by Death Eaters."

"Can we trust Snape?" Ginny asked with a frown. "I've never been quite sure which side he's on."

"I've always trusted him," McGonagall offered.

"He can be trusted," Hermione assured her friends. "Once he found out I was alive it was his idea to gather a fighting force. He was even going to start approaching you all himself, but things didn't work out that way. And since then we've decided it was safer for him to keep out of what's going on. But he can be trusted, and when it comes down to it, he will fight alongside us."

"As will mother and father," Draco said. "Although aside from them, we won't get any support other than what's here today. We're it. We're all that stands between The Dark Lord gaining complete power and taking over the entire wizarding world."

"No pressure then," Blaise muttered.

"So are you saying we do nothing in regards to Hogwarts?" Charlie checked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Draco replied. "Severus is on our side. He can be trusted."

"I'm more than happy to accept that and step aside for him," McGonagall said as the other Professors and members of Hogwarts staff who were at the meeting nodded their agreement.

"Good, just remember the less resistance you provide, the safer you'll be," Draco reminded the group.

"Speaking of being safe, just how safe is Hermione now Dumbledore and the others are no longer in the picture?" Neville asked.

"What do you mean?" Hermione questioned.

"We can't ignore the fact that Hermione is a muggleborn entrenched in enemy territory," Neville began. "Don't get me wrong Malfoy, I'm sure you're very capable of looking after her, but sooner or later You-Know-Who is going to want her gone. He might be happy to keep your sweet for the moment, but it won't last. He isn't going to stand for one of his top Death Eaters setting up home with a muggleborn."

"You're completely right, Longbottom," Draco agreed with a sharp nod of his head. "Hermione's safety is precarious. At the moment, The Dark Lord is happy for me to have her around. But you're right, there will come a time when he's not longer happy with the arrangement and he'll want to get rid of Hermione. So we need to make sure we get rid of him before that time comes."

"Which is why, we need to start thinking about the final battle," Hermione said. "I know we still have a couple of Horcruxes to retrieve, but we can do that and plan for the end as well."

"Does anyone have any ideas on how we're going to achieve that?" Kingsley asked. "It's not like we can attack the manor, or any-place else he might be."

"Then we draw him to us," Dean suggested.

"Yeah, we set a trap for him and his Death Eaters," Ginny agreed with an enthusiast nod. "We fight him where we want to be. Somewhere we've been preparing ahead of time."

"Like where?" Fred asked. "Where can we prepare for this battle where he won't notice us? He has eyes and ears everywhere these days."

"Which is why we use the place where his eyes and ears are loyal to us," McGonagall said, a sly grin sneaking over her lips. "We set up Hogwarts as the location of the final battle. His connection to Hogwarts is Severus, and if Severus is truly on our side, he can hide what we're doing from You-Know-Who."

"Hogwarts is a good idea," Kingsley said with a thoughtful nod. "But what about the students? We don't want to endanger innocent lives."

"Draco, can you keep Hermione safe until the start of the school holidays?" McGonagall asked. "I know it's still a few months away, but not only would it give us time to prepare, but it would give us the perfect opportunity to make sure the school was free from students."

"I can manage that," Draco vowed. "All I have to do is keep on his good side until then."

"You mean keep up the darkness," Pansy muttered with a shake of her head.

"We've been through this, Pans," Draco said gently. "I can't afford to let him see that light is returning to my soul. If I have to carry on with the darkness and be involved in dirty deeds, then it's what has to happen. It's the only way."

"Draco's right, he needs to keep hold of his darkness," Hermione agreed. "He keeps me safe by showing Voldemort that he's still as dangerous as ever. Plus, by keeping Voldemort onside it gives us the opportunity to retrieve the last two Horcruxes."

"I was thinking about that," Bill said. "Could any of us be of any help retrieving them? It feels a bit rude expecting you two to do all the dangerous work."

"I appreciate the offer, but I have to be the one to get them," Draco answered, flashing Bill a quick smile. "Only my magic will unlock the hiding place of one of them, and as for the other, it will be hard enough for me to retrieve, but it will be impossible for someone else to find it."

"So while you do that, we prepare for battle?" Seamus checked.

"Yes," Hermione answered. "And once we're ready, we lure Voldemort into our trap."

"And just what is our trap?" Theo questioned. "How do we get You-Know-Who to Hogwarts?"

"I think we're going to have to destroy the Horcruxes together," Hermione explained. "I'm not entirely sure, as there's no real precedent for someone splitting their soul into so many pieces, but I think that the more of Voldemort's soul that is destroyed the more he will feel it. And we don't want to risk him finding us before we've destroyed all of his Horcruxes."

"Including Nagini?" Neville asked. "How do we get hold of his snake?"

"I'm not sure yet," Hermione admitted with a wince. "If we can't get the creature beforehand, we're just going to have to rely on getting her in the heat of the battle."

"And what if he doesn't bring her to the battle?" Bill asked. "If he knows the rest of his Horcruxes are destroyed, why would be risk his last one by bringing her to the battle?"

"Logic dictates he'll keep her safe, but we also have to consider his ego," Draco answered. "He doesn't think anyone can defeat him, especially now Potter is gone. Even with all the other Horcruxes destroyed, he will enter any battle convinced he will win. He likes to have Nagini at his side at important moments, and I would bet that this would be no different. But we could always work on a contingency plan in case he surprises us all and uses his head for once."

"None of that really answers my question though," Theo pointed out. "Even if we destroy his Horcruxes at the same time and he feels it. How will he know where to find us?"

"He finds me," Draco replied with a rueful smile. "I'm the bait, Theo."

"Why are you the bait?" Pansy demanded sharply. "Why are you the one always putting yourself in danger, Draco?"

"In this case, it has to be me," Draco said. "If he realises what's happened, he's going to know who located his Horcruxes. I'm the only one who knows where they are, Pansy. If they'd destroyed, I have to have played a part in it."

"Which means that Draco can't be anywhere near Voldemort when we destroy the Horcruxes," Hermione said. "If he is, Voldemort might lash out and kill him on the spot."

"Which is why I'll be at Hogwarts," Draco said. "Even if The Dark Lord doesn't know where I am beforehand, he can track me via my mark. Rest assured he will come after me, and you can guarantee he won't come alone."

"What about Hermione?" Neville asked. "And your parents? They're in danger if they're anywhere near him at the time. They also need to be safe."

"Ideally we'll all be at Hogwarts, but we do have time to plan this down to the last detail," Draco replied.

"And what if the research is wrong?" Charlie asked. "What is by splitting his soul into so many pieces, he's totally unconnected to the pieces. What if he doesn't feel us destroying the Horcruxes?"

"Then I send for him," Draco replied with a careless shrug. "It doesn't matter how we get him to Hogwarts, the important thing is getting him there when we want."

"So this is it then," Hermione said, looking around at the group of witches and wizards who were going to take down Voldemort and stop his dark regime. "The end is fast approaching. Let's get planning."

The meeting ran for another hour, with various plans being discussed and lists made of things that needed organising before the big day. One thing was for sure the final battle was not going to be lost due to lack of preparation. They were all going to be ready for it, and hopefully that would be to their advantage as Voldemort and the Death Eaters would hopefully never see the end coming.

Once the meeting was over and everyone had gone home, Draco and Hermione made their way back to the manor. However, they'd been home less than half an hour when a house elf popped up announcing that their presence was required downstairs.

"Voldemort?" Hermione questioned as she and Draco headed down towards the ground floor of the manor.

"I'm guessing so," Draco replied. "I don't see why father would have summoned us."

"I hope it's not bad news," Hermione muttered. She especially hoped that Voldemort hadn't decided that she'd outlived her usefulness, not when they only had to get through a couple more months then it would all be over.

When they entered the front room it was impossible to tell if it was good news or not. Voldemort was deep in conversation with Lucius and the two wizards were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to spot the two teenagers until Draco cleared his throat.

"Draco, Miss Granger," Voldemort greeted, inclining his head in the pair's direction. "I've come bearing news."

"Good news I hope," Draco said in a steely voice, making it clear that he wasn't too happy with the interruption.

"I think so," Voldemort replied. "First, I've decided it's time the Minister stepped down. But rather than asking politely, I thought we could make an example out of him. I want his death to be a warning as to what will happen is people oppose me. And Draco, I want you to carry out the task for me."

Draco nodded, not showing the slightest bit of emotion, or looking towards Hermione for her reaction. He knew full well that Voldemort was testing him to see if he truly was as dark as he had been before Hermione returned. He was also guessing he was testing Hermione, to see if she would still stick around once she knew Draco truly was a killer. After all, it was one thing to accept him taking revenge for what had happened to her, but it was a totally different matter to accept him murdering a wizard just because Voldemort ordered him to do it.

"And the second thing," Draco pressed, well aware that there was more Voldemort wished to disclose.

"Your aunt had tracked down her cousin," Voldemort said, his gaze falling to Hermione. "The last person involved in your kidnapping has been found. It's time for Sirius Black to get his comeuppance."

"Do we get to be there?" Draco asked.

"We'll see," Voldemort replied with a shrug. "First, you need to prove yourself with Fudge. You've got a week, Draco. Make a statement to anyone thinking of opposing me, and reassure me that you're still the valuable asset I hope you are."

"And if I don't prove myself?" Draco questioned.

"I have no use for assets that have lost their value," Voldemort hissed coldly. "Do we understand each other, Draco?"

"Perfectly," Draco answered with a nod. "Leave Fudge to me."

After establishing that there was nothing else Voldemort wanted, Draco swept Hermione out of the living room and back to their wing of the manor. Heading straight for the library, he poured them both a stiff glass of firewhisky and settled himself down in front of the fire, which the elves kept burning in the cold weather, while Hermione hovered nervously beside him.

"I guess this is it," he muttered.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"The ultimate test," Draco replied, looking up at his girlfriend. "We've passed every other test. So far you've been able to handle my darkness, but this is different."

"No, it's not," Hermione said with a stubborn shake of her head. "You're still just doing what you need to in order for us to survive."

"This isn't just taking revenge on what happened to you," Draco pointed out. "I've been asked to kill a man whose never done anything to deserve it. True, Fudge is a bit useless and not the most dynamic of Ministers, but he still doesn't deserve to be murdered."

"Maybe we can find a way to make it look as though you killed Fudge, but really we could hide him," Hermione suggested.

"No," Draco said, shutting down the idea straight away. "I won't risk angering The Dark Lord. I will do as he wants. I will kill Fudge and make an example of him. And I just have to hope that it won't cost me your love."

"It won't," Hermione assured him as she perched on the chair next to her boyfriend. "We've been over this time and time again, Draco. I love you and nothing can change that."

"I guess we're about to find out," Draco whispered as he pulled Hermione close and pressed his lips against hers.

He knew she meant what she was saying, but he also knew that it all might change once he'd followed through on The Dark Lord's request. Once she'd seen what he was truly capable of, she might leave him, so Draco intended to make the most of Hermione while he still had her.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – Good news everyone, I am just one chapter away from finishing Shattered Trust. Yesterday I worked on what I always find to be the hardest part of the story (any sort of battle scene), and even though it turned into 2 chapters, I know now there's only one more chapter to go. So in order to get this story finished before Christmas updates will be every weekday this week and next.**

* * *

Kingsley sat in a meeting at the Ministry, with a scowl on his face. The new band of Ministry employees, whose loyalties were to Voldemort, were trying to push through some new laws, most of which made it legal to practice the Dark Arts. Surprisingly, they were going through official channels, but Kingsley knew it was merely a pretence. The new laws were going to be passed no matter what objections were raised.

"This is pointless," he muttered to the Head Auror. "Our objections are just going to be ignored. These laws will be passed whether we like it or not."

"Maybe we should try and appeal to the Minister himself," the Head Auror suggested.

"You mean the Minister who chose not to attend the meeting," Kingsley snorted. "Fudge's power is waning daily. He's far too scared to stand up to this new group."

"I'm not sure we can blame him too much for being scared," the Head Auror muttered. "These are scary times we live in, Kingsley."

"They are," Kingsley agreed. "But they won't last."

"I wish I had your faith," the Head Auror sighed. "But from where I'm standing, our world is doomed to darkness."

"You should never give up hope," Kingsley advised, not wanting to say more and give the game away about the resistance group he was a part of.

The Head Auror opened his mouth to reply, but before any words came out the floor shook and a loud rumbling noise filled the air.

"What was that?" Kingsley demanded as everyone jumped to their feet. Sounds of screaming were starting to filter through the Ministry and a sense of panic was building.

"Everyone down to the Atrium," one of the new officials ordered, a devilish smirk on his face.

"It's an attack," the Head Auror hissed to Kingsley as they departed the meeting room with everyone else and found the entire floor in chaos.

"Downstairs," the same official barked as he and his other colleagues started to herd everyone towards the stairs and the lifts.

Sliding his wand out of his robes and into his hand, Kingsley tried his best to keep people calm as they headed down to the Atrium. Even though his instincts were to fight, he knew it was pointless to try and resist until he knew what the exact situation was. At the moment it looked like an attack, but he couldn't be sure until they reached the Atrium and he saw what exactly was happening.

What was happening in the Atrium was complete and utter chaos. The Atrium was filled with acrid smoke and people were running around in a panic. As he took in the scene, Kingsley became aware of dark figures guarding the exits. It clearly was a Death Eater attack, and the Death Eaters were keeping the Ministry workers, and anyone else who happened to be at the Ministry, captive.

"Enough!" one of the Death Eaters bellowed, waving his wand and dispelling the smoke. "Just keep calm and no-one will be hurt."

Slowly silence fell around the Atrium, and Kingsley anxiously waited for the Death Eaters next move. What happened was the Death Eaters began to spread around the Atrium, pushing everyone back against the walls and forming a circle around the large fountain that dominated the Atrium.

"I want the Minister of Magic," the Death Eater who had spoken earlier demanded.

After a moment of hesitation the Minister himself edged forward from the crowds.

"What do you want?" he shakily asked.

"It's time you stepped down as Minister. Cornelius Fudge, I challenge you to a wizard's duel," the Death Eater growled.

"You don't need to challenge me to a duel, I'll step down," Fudge stutteringly offered.

"Coward," the Death Eater hissed. "Stand up and fight like a man."

Knowing full well that Fudge had been a bureaucrat for too long, and would never last in a duel, Kingsley made to step forward. However the Death Eater closest to him reached out to stop him and subtly shook his head.

"Don't," he whispered.

"Severus?" Kingsley questioned in a low voice.

The Death Eater once again subtly nodded his head, confirming his identity.

"Is that Draco?" Kingsley asked, nodding his head in the direction of the Death Eater who had challenged Fudge to a duel.

"Yes," Severus replied. "Don't interfere Kingsley, this has to be done."

"He's going to kill Fudge, isn't he?" Kingsley whispered.

"Yes."

"He can't," Kingsley hissed. "He's better than that."

"In what world could he say no to The Dark Lord?" Severus retorted, gesturing across the Atrium.

Kingsley turned his attention to the part of the Atrium where Severus had indicated. At first all he could see was more Death Eaters, but then he realised that there was something off with a couple of them. Instead of keeping the Ministry workers captive, the taller of the two Death Eaters had their hand securely wrapped around the arm of the shorter Death Eater.

"Hermione," he breathed, guessing that she was the Death Eater being held onto, likely by Voldemort himself.

"Hermione," Severus confirmed. "And that is The Dark Lord with her. If Draco fails, or if you try and interfere, she'll die."

"Sweet Merlin," Kingsley gasped, understanding the awful dilemma Draco was currently facing. Either he duelled Fudge and killed him, or else Hermione would die.

Turning his attention back to the centre of the Atrium, Kingsley realised that things had progressed while he'd been distracted. Fudge had clearly agreed to the duel and he and Draco were beginning the formalities which took place at the start of a wizarding duel.

As the pair backed away from one another, Kingsley held his breath as the first shots were fired. Surprisingly, Fudge was initially able to hold his own against Draco. For almost five minutes shots were traded and the duel was an even battle field. However, Kingsley could sense that Draco was holding back, and that when he turned it on Fudge wouldn't stand a chance. However, Fudge wasn't going down without a fight, and Kingsley was proud by the tenacity the Minister was showing.

Slowly the duel began to heat up and gasps and cries emanated from the crowd as Draco took a firm foothold in the battle. Time and time again, Fudge was knocked down and hit with curses, while Draco was barely mis-footed by the spells Fudge was sending his way. As the duel wore on the result started to become inevitable, and Kingsley wasn't too surprised when people in the crowd began to cry. After all, it wasn't exactly easy to watch the battle knowing full well that the Minister was going to fall. And even those people watching who didn't know who Fudge was fighting, did know that he was fighting a Death Eater and that most Death Eaters were ruthless.

Kingsley did wonder why Draco didn't just end things quickly, especially as he clearly had the advantage over Fudge. But he seemed content just to torment Fudge and drag out the duel. As he wondered why Draco was dragging out something that must be torture for him, Kingsley got his eye on Voldemort and Hermione and realisation suddenly struck him. If all Voldemort wanted was for Fudge to be killed, he could have arranged it with a snap of his fingers. He even could have arranged it for Draco to do the deed. But what he obviously wanted was a display. He wanted Fudge's death to be a spectacle, and for all of wizarding Britain to know that the Minister of Magic was killed by a Death Eater.

"Twisted monster," he muttered to himself. As if it wasn't bad enough what he was making Draco do, he had to turn it into a macabre production that no-one would ever forget.

Longing for the day when they could take Voldemort out, and rid the world of his evil, Kingsley reluctantly turned his attention back to the duel. Draco was gaining even more of an advantage, and as he sent Fudge tumbling to the floor again, he pounced on him. Kingsley wasn't sure, but he thought that Draco said something to Fudge as the Minister seemed to nod his head in grim understanding. However, he wasn't privy to what exactly was going on in the midst of the duel, so all he could do was watch as Draco backed off and Fudge stumbled to his feet. But before Fudge could regain his footing, Draco shot a spell at him which turned him upside down and dangled him in mid-air.

"I think you're done, Minister," Draco said as he picked up Fudge's wand, which had fallen from his hand when he's been strung upside down. "Look at this people," he called loudly, turning to the traumatised crowds. "This is what happens to people who stand in our way. Let this be a lesson to you all."

Even though Kingsley knew what was going to happen, he still couldn't help but wince as Draco turned back to Fudge and very clearly cast the killing curse. As the jet of green magic hit Fudge in his chest, extinguishing his life, several people collapsed and the noise in the Atrium reached fever pitch. Instinctually, Kingsley gripped his wand tighter, hoping that the afternoon wasn't going to descend into a devastating battle. However, Voldemort clearly wasn't in the mood for more bloodshed as a spell was shot into the air which created a loud bang and another cloud of acrid smoke, which the Death Eaters used as cover to vanish.

As the smoke began to clear, fear and chaos reigned in the Atrium, and Kingsley was momentarily frozen to the spot as he took in what had happened. Fudge had been killed, and now there was nothing and no-one to stop Voldemort taking full control of the Ministry. Kingsley just hoped that his reign was a short one and that Draco and Hermione were still prepared to go up against the dark wizard who was currently ruining all of their lives.

* * *

"Very impressive, Draco," Voldemort remarked, clapping Draco on the shoulder as they removed their Death Eater garb.

Even though he felt sick and wanted nothing more than to shrug Voldemort's vile hands off him, Draco remained stoic. He accepted Voldemort's praise as if it was only deserving and he acted as though what he'd just done meant nothing to him. Although the worrying thing was that only a few months previously, what he'd just done wouldn't have affected him at all. He could have taken out Fudge without batting an eyelid, but now all he could think about was the fact he'd just killed a man in cold blood, and worst of all, Hermione had witnessed the terrible act.

"I have to say, I've had my doubts about you these last few weeks," Voldemort confessed.

"I told you that nothing had changed," Draco replied.

"Now you've proved it," Voldemort said. "And what about you?" he asked, whirling to face Hermione. Even though she'd been by his side all the time at the Ministry, he had no idea what her reaction had been. "How did it feel to witness just what Draco is capable of?"

"He did what needed to be done," Hermione remarked, nonchalantly shrugging her shoulder. However, her voice wavered slightly and she knew Voldemort noticed as he smirked knowingly at her.

"As long as you keep this up, Draco, we'll be just fine," Voldemort said, turning back to the young blond wizard.

"And does this mean you're going to allow us to take part in whatever you've got planned for Black?" Draco asked.

"I'll think about it," Voldemort remarked with a smirk. "But right now, I've got a new Minister to find."

Hearing the dismissal in Voldemort's tone, Draco gently took hold of Hermione's hand and steered her out of Voldemort's presence. Until they were back in the safety of Draco's wing of the manor, neither of them uttered a word.

"I feel sick," Hermione muttered, collapsing onto the bed the second they entered Draco's bedroom.

"Sorry," Draco muttered, stalking over to the window and gazing unseeingly out into the manor grounds.

"How much more do you think he's going to put us through?" Hermione whispered.

"Knowing him, that was only the beginning," Draco replied with a sigh. "He's going to keep pushing us. He knows as long as you're here, he can get me to do whatever he wants. My guess is that he's going to use me for all his dirty work."

"We have to stop him before that happens," Hermione insisted, shakily getting to her feet and walking over to Draco. "I don't think I can watch you do that again," she confessed in a low voice.

"I'm not sure how much more I can do knowing you're witnessing my every depraved action," Draco admitted. "I feel dirty, Hermione. I don't feel worthy of your love."

"You are worthy," Hermione said, sliding her arm through Draco's and resting her head on his shoulder. "This changes nothing, Draco. I meant what I said earlier, you did what needed to be done. If you hadn't duelled Fudge today, I wouldn't be here."

"But yet an innocent man is still dead," Draco remarked. "Can we live with that?"

"We have to," Hermione said. "And we can honour Fudge's memory once we've gotten rid of Voldemort. It sounds harsh, but Fudge was one man. We can save so many more people if we stay in Voldemort's good books. We have to stay alive, so we can get rid of him and free the world from his darkness."

"We need to think of the bigger picture," Draco concluded.

"We do," Hermione agreed with a nod. "I know it's not easy Draco, but we can handle this together. Even on terrible days like today, at least we have each other. And just to clarify, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

Aware of how lucky he was, Draco pulled Hermione into his arms, and onto the bed. Sex was a good way of numbing the pain of the day, but Draco was well aware that the only way to really deal with it was to eliminate the cause of the pain. They needed to get rid of Voldemort, and the sooner the better. Maybe then he could be free, and he would finally get a chance to live a normal life.


	11. Chapter 11

Draco had hoped to keep his part in Fudge's demise a secret from the new Order, but when Severus caught him and warned him that Kingsley was aware of exactly what had happened at the Ministry, he realised that it wasn't going to be possible. After speaking to Hermione, they decided to gather the new Order together and face the potential backlash head on.

"Are you sure about this?" Hermione checked before they faced everyone. "We could have just tried to speak to Kingsley on the quiet."

"And what? Found out that he'd already mentioned it to someone?" Draco snorted. "The second he realised it was me at the Ministry, this was always going to get back to the others. Let's just hope we don't lose too much support."

"Anyone we lose isn't worth having on our side," Hermione insisted.

"Maybe not, but they could still cause trouble once we've gotten rid of The Dark Lord," Draco cautioned.

"Let's not worry about that right now," Hermione said. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Draco muttered. He was not looking forward to the meeting, and he especially wasn't looking forward to having to justify his actions.

Entering the large dining room, the couple found a decent portion of the new Order were present. McGonagall and a couple of senior Professors had managed to join them, and all the Weasleys were present. As were Dean, Seamus and Neville, who was sitting beside Ginny with a protective arm over the back of her chair. Kingsley was also present, and of course all of Draco's friends were there to support him.

"I'm sure you all know why we're here," Hermione said, noticing that some of the people she wasn't as close to were shooting daggers at Draco. Even a couple of people she knew well, seemed slightly wary of her boyfriend.

"We do," McGonagall confirmed with a nod of her head. "Is it true?" she asked, directing her question to Draco.

"If you're asking if I was the Death Eater who killed Fudge, then yes, it's true," Draco replied, his voice sounding cold and remote as he didn't plan on letting anyone see the inner turmoil he was feeling.

"And you still expect us to fight alongside you?" one of the Ministry workers Kingsley had recruited to the cause asked. "You're a killer."

"That happened long before Fudge," Draco pointed out. "You all knew what I was when you agreed to fight."

"But you have to admit this is different," Bill said quietly. He didn't want to upset Hermione, but he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't voice his worries.

"This is me doing what I need to do to protect the witch I love," Draco said firmly. "I'm not a hero, and I've never pretended to be one. I'm not trying to bring The Dark Lord down because I'm a good person and I want to save the world. I'm doing this for Hermione. Everything I have ever done has been for her."

"Killing Fudge was for her?" Bill questioned.

"The alternative was Hermione herself being killed," Draco replied. "Think what you like about me. Hate me if you want. I really don't care. But never doubt that everything I do isn't for Hermione's good. To keep her safe I have to keep proving myself to The Dark Lord. I doubt Fudge will be my last task. I will do whatever it takes to keep Hermione safe, and right now that means keeping him onside until we're ready to take the bastard down. And if anyone has a problem with that, or with me, you're free to leave."

Not waiting to see if anyone was going to take him up on his offer and leave, Draco turned and stalked out of the dining room. Even though his departure hadn't been planned, Hermione wasn't worried as she knew he wouldn't leave the house without her. And to be honest, he'd said his peace and she felt he'd made his point quite clearly. Staying at the meeting would only lead to further arguments, and she knew he wouldn't want to lose his temper with everyone.

"Does anyone want to leave?" Hermione asked.

Straight away the Ministry worker who had first questioned Draco, announced their plan to leave and they departed with another wizard who worked at the Ministry and had witnessed Fudge's death. However, no-one else immediately left, although Hermione could see some hesitation.

"I'm sure there are more of you uncomfortable with what Draco has had to do, but I just want to remind you that he's the one who has to do these terrible things," Hermione said. "At this moment in time, my life lies in Voldemort's hands. He can end me whenever he wants, and its only his goodwill towards Draco keeping me alive. Draco is doing what he has to do to keep me alive. In his place, would anyone else do anything different?"

"We understand Hermione," Neville said as several people nodded their agreement. "We don't think Malfoy is a bad person."

"He's not," Hermione said. "Believe me when I say what happened with Fudge doesn't sit easily with him. All he wants is for this to be over, and for us all to be free."

"But will he be free?" Bill asked softly. "When this is over the Ministry will be restored, and people will have to be held accountable for their actions. And that will include Draco."

"We'll deal with that when it happens," Hermione replied with a shrug. "But I should also remind you all that we can't do this without Draco. He's the only one who can bring us the remaining Horcruxes, and he's the only one who can lure Voldemort into our trap. You can fight without him, but you can't win without him. Keep that in mind before you judge him too harshly."

"Hermione's right," Kingsley said. "We need Draco, and we should be bloody grateful he's willing to help us. Even though it wouldn't be easy, he would still have the money and resources to hide from Voldemort. He could protect Hermione without helping us. Hermione herself could even pledge herself to the dark to save her life. I think we all need to remember just how much they're both risking to help us."

"I agree," McGonagall said. "Draco might seem tough, but I believe he feels things a lot more than he lets on. I don't for one minute think he killed Fudge for any other reason than it was what he needed to do to protect Hermione. We cannot judge him for doing everything in his power to keep the witch he loves safe. Especially after everything they've been through. Let's not forget that things would not be in this state if Dumbledore and the others had not acted the way they had last year."

"I suggest we move on and focus on planning the final battle," Kingsley said. "With Fudge gone a new Minister will need to be appointed and already Voldemort's influence in the Ministry is growing. The new Minister will ultimately answer to him, you can bet on that. We need to focus on defeating him once and for all."

"Does this mean you're all staying?" Hermione asked, glancing towards Bill, who had been the one to voice the concerns she felt several people felt.

"We're staying," Bill confirmed. "And I just want to assure you that I was never planning on walking. I just needed to be sure that Draco was still with us. You can't deny the darkness in him, Hermione. What happened with Fudge could have tipped him back towards the dark."

"The only thing that would tip him towards the dark is losing me," Hermione said. "And I don't intend on going anywhere."

"So we focus on defeating Voldemort," Kingsley reiterated. "How are we coming on with the Horcruxes?" he asked Hermione.

"Draco was hoping to retrieve one over the next couple of days," Hermione replied. "Given recent events, Voldemort is going to be busy trying to take full control of the Ministry, so he's got time to slip away. But we thought this needed addressing first. We need you all to understand that Draco is on our side. As he said, he's not doing this to be a hero, he's doing this so we can be free. I know he said I'm the reason he's doing this, but really it's for us both. This is the only way we can be together. We need to defeat Voldemort to stand any chance of having a normal life."

"That goes for us all," Neville said quietly, smiling slightly at Ginny as he spoke. "None of us can be free until we've rid the world of his darkness. I say we let Malfoy do what he has to do to keep himself and Hermione alive, and focus on what we need to do to help them defeat him."

"Well said Longbottom," Blaise said approvingly.

"Thank you Neville," Hermione said, flashing her friend a grateful smile. "And thank you all for supporting us. You won't regret this. Draco will not let us down. He may not consider himself a hero, but he's going to be the one to save us all."

Ten minutes later the meeting wound up and everyone headed off, pledging their continued support. It was only once everyone had gone that Hermione sought out her boyfriend. When she found him, Draco was sitting at the window in one of the bedrooms, obviously lost in his own thoughts as he gazed out onto a rather plain garden.

"Did they all walk out?" he asked as Hermione sat down next to him.

"Only a couple," Hermione replied, not wanting to lie and tell Draco everyone supported them when he would quickly found out they'd lost a couple of people. "A few more were unsure, but they've all agreed to stick by us. All they really wanted to know was that you were still on our side."

"They thought killing would bring out the darkness in me," Draco whispered. To be honest it was something he'd worried about himself, but instead all he'd felt was repulsed and the desire to get rid of Voldemort was stronger than ever.

"Between us, I think we convinced them that you're just doing what needs to be done," Hermione said. "It's easy to judge, and say that you're in the wrong, but no-one knows what it's like to be in your shoes. You're doing what you have to do, Draco, they understand that."

"You hope," Draco muttered. "So what happens now?"

"Now you retrieve the next Horcrux," Hermione replied. "And the one after that."

"I was already making plans to go to Brazil," Draco said. "It should only take me a couple of days at the most. Although India could prove more time consuming."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "Don't you know where you left the Horcrux?"

"Not exactly," Draco admitted with a slight grimace. "I never expected to have to retrieve it, and The Dark Lord asked for them to well-hidden and impossible to find by chance."

"What did you do, Draco?" Hermione questioned with a sinking feeling. She'd been hoping that the final two Horcruxes would be easy to retrieve, so they could then focus on bringing Voldemort down once and for all.

"I dropped it in a crevice in the mountains," Draco replied with a wince.

"The mountains?" Hermione questioned. "You mean the Himalayas?"

"That would be them," Draco confirmed with a nod.

"Just a small mountain range then," Hermione quipped. "And do you at least have some idea of where we want to be looking?"

"I think so," Draco replied. "But let's focus on the one I can get my hands on easily. The Dark Lord's pretty busy at the moment, so I should take advantage of it and head off to Brazil. With any luck I can be back before it's time to deal with Black."

"I thought your aunt was handling Sirius," Hermione remarked. To be honest she'd had enough of revenge and all she wanted now was to bring down Voldemort and live a normal life with Draco.

"I'm sure she's having plenty of fun with him, but I want to be there to witness the end," Draco said. "You don't have to be there, though."

"Do you think he'll expect it of me?" Hermione asked.

"Possibly," Draco answered honestly. "But if you really don't want to be there, we can come up with some excuse. Maybe we can say you're feeling under the weather."

"We can decide at the time," Hermione replied. "Let's focus on Brazil. Are you going alone, or do you want me to come with you?"

"I'd love for you to come, but it might be easier if I go alone," Draco said. "We've already had one break, and the trip to India won't be quick so I'd rather you were with me. So if I go alone, I might even be able to go and get back before he realises I'm gone. And if he does ask for me while I'm gone, it's easy enough to pretend I'm with Blaise and Theo."

"I guess it's best if we don't arouse his suspicions," Hermione conceded. "You go alone, and go on the sly. With any luck you'll be back before he even realises you're gone."

"That's the plan," Draco said with a nod. "Now let's go home."

With the new Order pacified and plans set to retrieve the final two Horcruxes, Draco and Hermione headed home to the manor, where they would have a bit of alone time before Draco headed off to Brazil.


	12. Chapter 12

Draco's trip to Brazil passed without Voldemort even realising he'd left the country. The Dark Lord was so caught up in making plans at the Ministry that he failed to notice Draco's absence for a few days. He didn't even notice Draco's absence the couple of times he was at the manor to speak to Lucius. However, Hermione was still thrilled when Draco returned as she hadn't wanted them to press their luck.

"He didn't even ask about me?" Draco checked once he was safely back at home and the latest Horcrux was secure in the house in London.

"Not as far as I know," Hermione replied. "But I never saw him. Your father did though."

"What was father seeing him about?" Draco asked in concern. Given how close they were to trying to take Voldemort out, the last thing they needed was for Lucius to get further sucked into Voldemort's crimes.

"There was talk of him taking over as Minister," Hermione admitted.

"Please say that talk didn't come to anything," Draco said pleadingly. If Lucius became Voldemort's Minister, it would make it almost impossible for him to avoid being sent to Azkaban if they did succeed in bringing down The Dark Lord.

"It didn't," Hermione reassured her boyfriend. "Lucius acted keen enough. In fact, I think Voldemort decided on someone else, because your father seemed a little bit too keen."

"Let's guess, he's gone with one of his lesser Death Eaters," Draco predicted. "He's gone with someone easy to control, and with no ambition of his own."

"Yep," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "I can't say I've even heard of this wizard he's put into power. Your father said by showing a bit too much enthusiasm, he would have reminded Voldemort that he wouldn't be too easy to control when he had all that power in his hands."

"And he'd be right," Draco agreed. "I'm sure The Dark Lord initially wanted someone of stature to be his new Minister, but that comes with the risk of them using power for their own gain, rather than his. No doubt he thinks he's better off with a mindless yes-man, who will do whatever he wants with no questions asked."

"All that really matters is that your father managed to stop himself getting entangled in things," Hermione said. "I had to admit, I was seriously worried for a while when Lucius informed me what Voldemort was thinking. He could have ruined everything by putting Lucius in as Minister."

"Let's not worry about things that never happened," Draco said as he pulled Hermione into his arms. "Father's a sly one, and he manged to keep himself out of trouble just fine. Now all we have to do is to keep him onside for a few weeks longer, and then we can strike."

"And let's hope it works, otherwise we're all dead," Hermione said seriously.

"And here was me thinking you were the optimistic one," Draco remarked with a low chuckle.

"I do try and be optimistic, but sometimes it's hard not to think about everything that could go wrong," Hermione admitted. "After all, our entire plan hinges on the hope that he hasn't made any more Horcruxes you don't know about. If he's even got another one out there, we're going to fail."

"It's a chance we're going to have to take," Draco returned solemnly. "We both know our time together is limited otherwise. He won't tolerate you forever. But the longer he does, the more I have to please him, and that is getting harder to do. Every day I'm finding this act harder to keep up."

"I thought you said my return wouldn't change you," Hermione whispered. "I thought you said you were too far gone, that your soul was too tarnished."

"Maybe I wasn't as far gone as I thought," Draco admitted quietly. "That's not to say I can ever get back to the person I once was, but constantly having you by my side gives me something to live for. You give me hope, Hermione. Hope that I'm more than a cold-hearted killer."

"You are not a cold-hearted killer," Hermione argued. "I seriously doubt you ever were, even in your darkest days."

"I have to beg to differ there," Draco snorted. "But the point was, we have to press on with our plan because it's our only hope. And we have to believe it can work. If we don't, we'll be defeated before we even start."

"It can work. It will work," Hermione stated positively. "We will have a future, Draco."

"I hope you're right," Draco muttered, burying his face in Hermione's thick hair as he held her tight. A future was something he thought he'd lost a long time ago, and it was taking some adjustment to once again believe that it was a possibility.

"I'm always right," Hermione chuckled. "And right now, I think we need to make up for lost time. I haven't seen you in days, and I've been lonely in your big bed all by myself."

"Let's rectify that, shall we?" Draco replied, grinning at Hermione as he swept her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed.

Dropping Hermione in the middle of the bed, Draco hopped on beside her, and the pair lunged at each other. Clothes were torn off and discarded in a haphazard fashion as the couple couldn't get enough of each other. Hands and lips were everywhere as passion overtook them. They were both naked in less than a minute, and just a few minutes after that, Draco's head was between Hermione's thighs as she was crying out in pleasure when a knock sounded at the bedroom door.

"Go away," Draco growled at whoever was at the door, barely breaking from what he was doing to Hermione.

As the knocking continued, Hermione fell over the edge, and she was still writhing in ecstasy as the door opened and a house elf timidly poked it's head around the door. Draco's growl of annoyance was so loud the poor elf visibly blanched, but it stood its ground long enough to pass on the message it was delivering.

"What was that?" Hermione panted distractedly as the elf vanished and the bedroom door closed. Had she been more aware, she would have been totally humiliated by the extremely compromising position she and Draco had been caught in, but as it was, her mind was still fuzzy was bliss.

"The Dark Lord," Draco answered, the very words more than enough to deflate the erection he'd been sporting only moments before. "He's waiting to see us."

"What about?" Hermione asked, suddenly focused and feeling anything but amorous.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Draco replied with a shrug as he jumped off the bed. "We best not keep him waiting."

Even though they dressed as quickly as they could, they could do nothing to disguise the flush to their features. Hermione was well aware of how distracted they both appeared, and she suspected that Voldemort would be able to tell what he'd interrupted. Shivering at the thought of Voldemort being aware of her sex life, Hermione took hold of Draco's hand and together they headed off to face the dark wizard whom they both hoped to be defeating in the coming months.

Voldemort was waiting for them in Lucius's study, and he didn't waste any time in pleasantries. He got straight to the point of his visit, which was to take them to see Sirius. Apparently Bellatrix was reaching the end of her patience, and since he'd promised Draco a pop at Sirius before he was killed, he was keeping that promise.

Even though Hermione knew that if she'd been given a warning she would have found a way to get out of the trip, she was taken so by surprise that she found herself whisked away by Voldemort before she had a chance to object. So she stayed silent, and hid her discomfort as they landed in a small, overgrown garden belonging to a ramshackle old cottage.

"We best get inside before your Aunt has all the fun," Voldemort remarked with a chuckle as a loud, pained cry drifted out of the cottage.

Hermione brought up the rear, as she followed Voldemort and Draco into the cottage. The cottage was pretty basic, but Hermione didn't have time to really assess her surroundings, as she found herself captivated by the sight of a half-naked Sirius tied to a bed in the centre of what would normally be a living room. His bare top half was covered in blood and scratches, and his face was a mass of bruises.

"I've brought you a couple of guests, Black," Voldemort informed Sirius.

Cracking open his bruised eyes, Sirius blanched at the sight of Draco. But then he caught sight of Hermione, and his lips curved into a half-smile.

"Hermione," he whispered.

"Sirius," Hermione greeted, walking over to the bed and crouching down beside him. "I can't believe it's come to this."

"It doesn't have to be this way," Sirius said softly. "You don't have to be part of this. I know we hurt you, but you can be better than us. You don't have to hurt me."

"I have no intention of hurting you, Sirius," Hermione replied. "I haven't hurt anyone involved in my kidnapping. I just haven't stepped in to stop their pain. Do you want me to do that for you, Sirius? Do you want me to make sure you have an easy end?"

"Please," Sirius whispered in a half sob, almost as if it pained him to beg for death.

"Hermione don't," Draco warned from behind his girlfriend.

To Voldemort and Bellatrix, it might have sounded as though he was begging her not to take away his chance of vengeance, but Hermione knew he was also cautioning her against showing weakness in front of Voldemort.

"Don't listen to him, Hermione," Sirius pleaded. "You're better than him. You're not a monster like he is."

"Draco isn't the monster, Sirius," Hermione said. "You and the Order were the monsters. What you did to me, you did to someone you were supposed to care about. How could you treat me that way?"

"I didn't want to," Sirius whispered.

"But how hard did you try and stop it?" Hermione retorted. "Because you could have stopped it, Sirius. In fact, I think you were the only person who could have saved me. I know Harry came up with the plan, and he convinced himself he was trying to save me. But you weren't convinced, were you? I could see that when you were holding my captive. You didn't like the plan."

"I had to support Harry," Sirius said, pleading with Hermione to understand.

"No, you should have been the godfather you were meant to be, and you should have stopped him," Hermione retorted sharply. "You were the only one who could have stopped him, Sirius. Ron was never going to go against him. He never had the balls to stand up and give his own opinions. And the Weasleys were never going to protest, as they wouldn't have wanted to lose Harry. And as for Dumbledore, well we both know that when it came to Harry, he was a blind old fool. He was so desperate to keep Harry onside, and to have control of 'The Chosen One', that he would have gone along with anything he wanted. And Remus and Tonks just didn't have the connection with Harry to stand up to him. But you did. You could have stopped this, Sirius."

"I couldn't," Sirius argued.

"You could," Hermione insisted. "Harry worshipped you from the moment he discovered that you hadn't betrayed his parents after all. You could do no wrong in his eyes, Sirius. Your words would have held some sway over him. If you'd tried, he would have listened to you. But you didn't bother, did you? No, of course you didn't. Because it was easier to go along with what he wanted and keep him sweet. Sod me, and sod what you were putting other people through, as long as your precious godson was happy. I'll share a secret with you, Sirius. He wasn't happy in the end. In the end he died regretting what he did to me. Just like you're going to do."

"Do you want to give him a merciful ending?" Draco asked as Hermione rose to her feet.

"Do as you want with him, I don't care," Hermione retorted, and ignoring Sirius who begged her to help him, she turned and walked back out of the cottage.

Hermione had only been outside a moment, and hadn't had time to gather her thoughts before she felt a presence behind her. Without even having to turn around she knew it was Voldemort. Praying that she hadn't messed up, she slowly turned around to find Voldemort studying her carefully.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, trying not to show how worried she was.

"No problem, I'm just wondering if you're cut out for this," Voldemort remarked, leaning against the doorway of the cottage, through which Hermione could hear the screams and pleas of Sirius starting up.

"Because I don't want to watch more torture?" Hermione questioned. "Haven't I seen enough? I was with Draco when he disposed of Remus and Tonks, and I was at Azkaban. I don't need to see Sirius's end. I've said all I have to say on the matter, and once he's gone, it's over as far as I'm concerned."

"And the future?" Voldemort asked. "What do you see the future holding for you if you're already sick of the violence?"

"You don't need me to be here for moments like this," Hermione said, gesturing to the cottage behind Voldemort. "My lack of interest in more violence, shouldn't matter. It's not like it affects Draco, and that is what you're really worried about, isn't it? All you really want to know is if I'm going to take him from you."

"Are you?"

"I don't think I could, even if I tried," Hermione lied with a shrug. "After everything I've been through, all I want is to be with Draco. And I really don't care if he's a Death Eater. He's still the wizard I love and the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"So you're happy to stand by and watch him support me?" Voldemort asked. "You're content to do nothing as he rises in my estimation, and I make plans for his future. Because he does have a future with me. He has the potential to be magnificent, and I will not allow anything to stop him."

"You can do what you want with Draco, all I ask is that he comes home to me at the end of the day," Hermione replied, sounding far more casual than she felt. It repulsed her to tell Voldemort he could do as he wished with Draco, but she knew it was the only way to keep them safe for the next couple of months.

"You really are the most unique girl I've ever seen," Voldemort mused, shaking his head slightly. "You really would be content as long as you had Draco in your life."

"I would," Hermione answered.

"I can't see any problem with that, as long as Draco remains useful to me," Voldemort said. "One hint of weakness from him, and I'll know that you're no good for him, and I will remove you from his life for good."

"The darkness is a part of him now, and I don't change that," Hermione replied, pausing to allow a loud cry of Sirius's to linger between them. "Why don't you go and see for yourself. It sounds to me as though Draco is making you proud in there."

"It does," Voldemort agreed with a low chuckle which sent shivers down Hermione's back. "But I have no particular desire to see the end of Black, so I think I'll wait with you in the fresh air. I trust Bella to give me a full report later, and I know she'll be judging her nephew just as harshly, possibly even more so, as I would."

Knowing it was best not to argue, Hermione nodded her head, and staying strong she stood outside of the cottage with Voldemort, listening to Sirius's last moments. When Draco emerged from the house and confirmed Sirius was dead, Voldemort dismissed them and headed indoors to check with Bellatrix that Draco had done himself proud. As for Hermione and Draco, they headed back to the manor, where they decided not to speak of Sirius's death, and instead focus on the battles that lay ahead of them as they strove for the future they both so desperately wanted.


	13. Chapter 13

Muttering to herself, Hermione followed Draco as he used magic to re-trace his footsteps in the mountains where he'd hidden the final Horcrux. So far the couple had been in India for three days, and as much as Hermione was loving being in India itself, they weren't making much progress on the reason they were there. The Horcrux was still alluding them, and quite honestly Hermione was beginning to have doubts as to whether or not they would be able to retrieve it.

Since arriving in India, she and Draco had been in the mountains every day. They used spells to track where Draco had already been, and they were constantly trying to summon the Horcrux. However, so far they were drawing a blank, and Hermione was wondering just how long Draco had spent wandering the Himalayas last time he'd been there.

"Let's take a break," Draco called from ahead of her as he settled himself on a flat rock.

"How close do you think we are?" Hermione asked as she joined her boyfriend in taking a breather. "Does anything look familiar?"

"Not really," Draco answered with a shrug. "And I have no idea if we're close or not. I didn't exactly use a map last time."

"Just how long were you up here though?" Hermione asked. "I know we have to go slowly to try and find the Horcrux, but given the ground we've already covered, you must have been in the mountains for hours."

"I probably was," Draco said. "But to be honest, that time is all pretty much a blur. Details elude me, because I was just stumbling my way through life. I wasn't engaged enough to pay any real attention to anything, least of all how long I'd been wandering the mountains."

"I'm sure we'll get there eventually," Hermione said positively, not wanting to dwell on Draco's state of mind the last time he was in India. "Speaking of which, how much longer do we have?"

"A few days," Draco replied. "We can find an excuse to stay longer if we have to, but I'd rather it didn't come to that. It'll be better for us if we can stick to schedule and return home when we're supposed to."

As far as Voldemort was concerned, Draco was partaking in his first business trip on behalf of the family company, Malfoy Enterprises, with Hermione accompanying him for some company and support. Given the situation before, he'd never joined Lucius in the family business as he would have done in normal circumstances, but since they were supposed to be acting as though they were settling into a life together under Voldemort's rule, Draco joining Lucius in business seemed the perfect cover story for their absence. However, while Voldemort had accepted the trip without fuss, he'd warned Draco that he had big plans for him, and it didn't involve him working alongside his father. Although with any luck he would be gone before he had a chance to get working on those big plans for Draco.

"We better crack on," Draco said after a twenty minute rest.

"Yeah, let's get going," Hermione agreed.

Being very careful, as the mountains were a dangerous place, the couple carried on their search. As the afternoon wore on, Hermione resigned herself to yet another day where they didn't find anything. But then she noticed Draco had come to a halt beside what looked like a terrifying drop, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Draco," she called warily, reluctant to get any closer as she wasn't sure how secure the rocks were where Draco was standing.

"I can remember this place," Draco said softly.

"Really? It looks just the same as everywhere else to me," Hermione said.

"It looks like that to me, but my memory isn't of my surroundings, it's of a feeling. I've stood in this exact spot before, and I can remember what I felt when I was here."

"Do I want to know what you felt?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Probably not," Draco conceded with a shrug. "Let's just say it was pretty bleak."

"You thought about throwing yourself off the edge, didn't you?" Hermione whispered, unable to stop herself from voicing the thought she didn't really want confirmed.

"I did think about how easy it would be to fall into a crevice and never be found," Draco said quietly as he turned back to Hermione. "But I didn't do it. I dropped the bracelet into one instead."

"Near here?" Hermione asked.

"I think so," Draco answered. "Let's try to find it, shall we? Accio bracelet."

When nothing immediately happened, Hermione let out a disappointed sigh, but Draco wasn't so easily deterred. Instead he tried the charm a couple more times before a small smile appeared on his lips.

"It's coming," he informed Hermione.

And sure enough, seconds later there was a flash of metal from Hermione's left hand side and a beautiful emerald bracelet landed in the palm of Draco's hand.

"Is this it?" Hermione checked. After all, she didn't want them to return home with some random bracelet that had been lost in the mountains.

"This is it," Draco confirmed as he examined the bracelet. "The last one."

"The last one we can get our hands on before the final battle," Hermione corrected. "Don't forget, all this will have been in vain if we can't destroy Nagini."

"We will," Draco replied confidently as he folded the bracelet in a handkerchief and secured it in his pocket. "Now let's head back down into the city. We can have a few days to ourselves before we return home if you want."

"I'd like that," Hermione said, smiling warmly at Draco and stepping into his arms.

With the Horcrux securely in their possession, the couple headed back to civilisation where they planned on spending a couple of days exploring the delights of India, before they headed home to prepare for the biggest battle of their lives.

* * *

The air at the Malfoy house in London was thick was anticipation as the new Order gathered to hear how Draco and Hermione's final trip to retrieve a Horcrux had gone. Although they weren't just there to get an update on the Horcruxes, they were there to start making plans for the final battle. Even though they'd discussed their plan in broad strokes, it was now time to get down to the nitty-gritty and to sort out the details of what was going to be one of the most important days in Wizarding Britain's history.

"So there we have it," Hermione announced as Draco placed the emerald bracelet on the table in front of everyone. "All the Horcruxes we can get our hands on ahead of the time to destroy them."

"And how sure are we that we've got them all?" Charlie questioned.

"As sure as we can be," Hermione replied with a shrug. "We've rechecked the original information we had, and we all agreed that Dumbledore was right about the number of Horcruxes Voldemort had originally made. And we've retrieved all the new ones he's given to Draco to hide. If he's made any more, he's kept them entirely to himself, and if that's the case, there's nothing we can do. We just have to hope he didn't do that."

"Hermione's right, all we can do is proceed as though we've got them all," Kingsley said. "If we don't, we could cripple ourselves with doubt. Let's think positive."

"And what about the snake?" Dean questioned. "Do we have a definitive plan to deal with it?"

"That's all going to depend on whether or not she's at the final battle," Draco answered. "We've got Basilisk fangs and venom to destroy the rest of the Horcruxes, so we have the means to destroy her as well if she's at the final battle. If she is there, I say we all need to be prepared and if you get a chance, take her out."

"And if she isn't there?" Seamus asked. "What do we do then?"

"Someone is going to have to leave the battle, go to where she is and destroy her," Draco replied.

"It's not going to be that simple though, is it?" Ginny snorted.

"No, if she's left behind, she's going to be hard to get to," Draco admitted. "But the key to getting to her will be to know where she is."

"And how are we going to know where she is?" Blaise asked. "It's not like he's going to tell you, Draco."

"We know, which was why we were hoping an expert might be able to help us," Hermione said, turning to Charlie and flashing him a smile.

"Me?" Charlie queried in surprise. "I'm a dragon expert, not a snake expert."

"But we were hoping you would know of some way to track a magical creature without it realising," Draco said. "We're afraid that if we cast a regular tracking spell on Nagini, either she or The Dark Lord will pick up on it. We can't risk him finding out our plan, but we need to be able to find Nagini when the time comes."

"I can actually help you there," Charlie said with a wide smile. "There's a tracking pellet we use on the dragons. It's slipped into their food, and once they've digested it, the spell runs through their blood. We can then track them if any of them go missing."

"Do you often have dragons going missing?" Theo questioned with a worried frown.

"It has been known to happen," Charlie replied with an unconcerned shrug.

"Theo, now is not the time to worry about dragons roaming around," Draco scolded his friend. "Especially not when they're not even in this country. Can you get us the tracking pellet?" he asked Charlie.

"Yeah, I can get in touch with a friend and he can send me a few," Charlie replied. "It should only take a couple of days."

"Perfect," Hermione said with a nod, mentally ticking off the Nagini problem in her head. "So once we have the pellet, we'll have a way to track Nagini."

"So what's next?" Neville asked.

"Next we discuss the final battle," Draco said. "As we've already talked about, Hogwarts is the perfect place to launch our attack. It gives us a solid base, and it's somewhere which we can defend. But are we still going to need as many people as we can get to fight. He won't be alone, he'll bring his Death Eaters with him, and they are ruthless."

"We can gather more supporters," Kingsley vowed.

"Just make sure you do it on the quiet," Hermione warned.

"He's already starting to worry about the lack of response to him taking over the Ministry," Draco said. "He's just waiting for you to pounce. He doesn't believe the Order will just sit back and do nothing as he takes control."

"Does that mean we should be doing something?" Bill questioned.

"No, I don't think so," Draco replied with a shake of his head. "At the minute he thinks you're all still struggling with the loss of Dumbledore. He's just preparing himself for when you regroup and are ready to come at him again. And we are going to use that to our advantage."

"How?" Bill asked.

"Severus is going to tell The Dark Lord that he's spotted some of the Order lurking around the school," Draco explained. "He'll think it's the school you're planning on trying to take back. Severus will then convince him that once school is over the wards will need strengthening, and he'll ask for mine and father's help."

"How does that help us?" Ginny frowned. "If the wards around the school are strengthened, it'll be harder for us all to get inside when the time comes."

"The only person we'll be strengthening the wards against is The Dark Lord himself," Draco replied. "It's just the ruse to get father and I to Hogwarts."

"And what about Hermione?" Neville asked in concern. "Will she be with you?"

"No," Hermione replied. "I'll be arriving with Narcissa. We don't want to arouse suspicion, so while Draco and Lucius go to Hogwarts to help with the wards, Narcissa is going to offer to take me shopping. Of course we're going to head straight to Hogwarts, but he won't know that."

"Will that work?" McGonagall asked. "Won't he be suspicious?"

"He doesn't have a need to be suspicious," Draco said. "I'm doing enough to keep his faith in me. He trusts me, but more importantly he trusts Severus. If Severus says security at Hogwarts needs tightening, he won't doubt that."

"But what if he chooses to come along with you?" Charlie questioned. "We can't use the school as a base if he's already in there."

"He won't," Draco answered with confidence. "He'll arrange to check the work over, but he's not interested in overseeing the grunt work. Believe me, he'll trust the three of us to make sure Hogwarts is impenetrable."

"So when will this be happening?" Fred asked. "When do we have to be ready for?"

"If he thinks Hogwarts is under threat, he'll want it doing as soon as possible," Draco replied. "Our plan was to move the first full day of the holidays. However, as soon as the Hogwarts Express has left Hogsmeade, preparations can begin. Those who can, should arrive that day and take up residence at the school. It'll be easier if you're all already there when we arrive."

"And it's once we arrive, and know everything is in place, that we strike," Hermione continued. "Once we're ready, we destroy the Horcruxes we have in our possession."

"And that will draw him to us?" George checked.

"It should do," Hermione said. "By destroying the Horcruxes we have, it'll leave him with Nagini and what little soul he still has left. He should feel that loss, but we can't guarantee it."

"But if he doesn't come to us, I'll bring him to us," Draco said. "Either way, we'll get him where we want him. I just have one request to make. I want to be the one to take him out."

"Are you up for it?" Kingsley asked. "I don't mean to be rude, Draco, but he has years of experience. Whoever takes him on needs to know what they're doing."

"Yet you were all willing to stake your lives on Potter taking him out," Draco snorted. "I can handle myself better than he ever could. Trust me, I can deal with The Dark Lord."

"I say given everything that's happened, we should give Draco the chance to battle You-Know-Who," McGonagall said.

"What do we have to lose?" George questioned with a shrug. "I don't know about anyone else, but I don't fancy taking him on. It's worrying enough having to take on other Death Eaters. If someone is willing to take on that lunatic, I say we let them."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Draco said with a low chuckle, amused by George's plain speaking.

"I just say it like I see it," George replied. "If you want to take him on, I say go for it."

"So if no-one has any objections, Draco will take on Voldemort," Hermione said, pausing to see if anyone was going to object. When they didn't, she shot Draco a small smile and they carried on going over their plans for the final battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters.


	14. Chapter 14

As the students of Hogwarts departed the castle at the end of yet another year, the headmaster stood on the front steps, seemingly overseeing their departure. However, Severus's mind was on anything but the children leaving the school, and he was totally oblivious to the jolly atmosphere surroundings the students as they headed home for the summer.

Lost in his own thoughts, he became vaguely aware of a presence at his side. Without turning around he knew it was McGonagall, but he didn't greet the older witch. Nor did she greet him, she merely stood beside him in silence and didn't speak until the last student had left the castle and joined the queue for the carriages that carried the children down to Hogsmeade station.

"Is everything alright?" she asked quietly, even though there was no-one close enough to overhear their conversation.

"Just thinking about what's to come," Severus replied.

"Are you worried the plan won't work?" McGonagall questioned. Even though she had faith that Draco knew what was he doing, there was still a part of her that worried that things might not be as simple as her former pupil envisioned.

"There's that possibility with every plan," Severus returned with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But so far it seems to be working. The Dark Lord seemed to believe me when I said I'd seen some of the Order hanging around the school. Like Draco predicted, he seemed to think this was their move."

"Yet you don't seem convinced," McGonagall pointed out. As hard as Severus could be to read at times, she felt she knew him pretty well, and she could sense that he was uneasy.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Severus said with a sigh as the last of the coaches departed and he turned to the older witch he'd replaced as head. "But the thing is, if The Dark Lord is suspicious of Draco, he's going to be the last one to know about it. We could be thinking we're setting a trap for him, when really he's setting one for us."

"Do you think he's suspicious of Draco?"

"I'd like to think Draco has done enough to keep him onside," Severus admitted in a low voice. "But the truth is, we won't know until it comes to the crunch."

"Then let's hope that things are going to go our way," McGonagall returned. "Let's not borrow trouble, Severus. I say we go ahead as though our plan is solid and will work."

"It is a solid plan, and it will work. But only if The Dark Lord still trusts in Draco."

"There's nothing we can do about that, so let's just focus on our part of the plan."

Agreeing that McGonagall was right, and there was no use worrying over something that may not even be a problem, Severus accompanied her back into the castle. The staff were already gathered in the staff room, all of them having already agreed to stay and fight.

"Thank you all for staying," Severus said, knowing full well he was expected to take charge of this portion of the plan. "Now, we need to get moving as we've got a lot to get done today. Minerva and Filius are going to open the floo connection in their offices, and people will start to come through to the castle. Once they start to arrive, we need to ensure everyone has beds for the night, but more importantly, that the castle is as protected as we can get it. However, we are going to have to do it carefully. I don't want anyone to get wind of the fact the castle is occupied."

"You think we might be being watched?" Flitwick asked with a concerned frown.

"I haven't seen any sign of it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry," Severus replied. "I don't trust The Dark Lord, and even though he seems oblivious to our plan, I don't want us to get too cocky. Let's be cautious, and go about our business as quietly as possible."

"Severus is right, a bit of caution is not going to hurt," McGonagall agreed.

"I also want to use The Great Hall as our centre of operations, and I was thinking it might be easier to use a couple of the classrooms on the ground floor as a makeshift hospital wing," Severus continued. "We don't know what exactly to expect, but you can bet your life there's going to be casualties. And I just don't think it's going to be practical using the current hospital wing. So Poppy, could you set yourself up down here?"

"I could," Madam Pomfrey replied with a nod of her head. "But I am going to need some help, both with the move and with treating the injured once things get messy."

"Our numbers will be increasing shortly, we can sort some helpers for you," Severus promised. "And helping you in the hospital wing could be the perfect place for some of the younger people who will turn up."

After going over a few more things that needed doing, Severus then headed off to his office to make his own preparations for the following day. He was going to make sure that once everyone had arrived, that there was no way Voldemort could gain access to the school via the floo or by breaking the anti-apparition wards that were built into the school's security. However, he had to be careful not to cut off the access too soon, just in case The Dark Lord was planning on contacting him about Lucius and Draco's visit.

Fortunately, Voldemort didn't get in touch with Severus, and with any luck he was oblivious to the fact that the school was filling up by the hour. By lunchtime the castle was already bustling with activity, and by late afternoon, a significant portion of the wizarding community were set up in Hogwarts.

"What do you think?" Kingsley asked Severus, as the pair stood in the entrance to The Great Hall, taking in the amount of people the house elves were trying to make sure were all fed. "Is it enough?"

"I have no idea," Severus admitted. "He's likely not going to turn up with an army, but he can soon call on one when he realises it's not just a rebellion from Draco he's dealing with. I think then it could come down to if we can take him out."

"Do you think the Death Eaters will fall if we take him out?" Kingsley asked, looking for some insight into the people they would be battling.

"It's hard to say," Severus replied. "I'm sure some will flee if we can take out The Dark Lord, but others, like Bellatrix Lestrange, will fight to the end. They're the ones we're going to have to look out for."

"Could you give me a rundown of the most dangerous opponents we're likely to face?" Kingsley asked. "I would like to make sure that the more experienced among us are taking on the more dangerous Death Eaters."

"I can give you my opinions on people, but don't forget we're going to have to unmask most of them," Severus cautioned. "Bella might turn up to the battle without a mask, but most of the others will."

"I was going to make it a top priority to see how many Death Eaters we could unmask," Kingsley said. "And any we can't unmask, I was hoping you and Lucius would help identify them."

"I'll do my best," Severus promised.

"Thank you," Kingsley said. "Now let's grab some food. We've still got plenty to do before nightfall, and we're going to need our strength for tomorrow."

"Yes, we will," Severus muttered in agreement, as he followed Kingsley's lead and made sure he had a decent meal inside of him.

* * *

For breakfast, the house elves of Hogwarts laid on a buffet style meal, even though everyone was up early and gathered in The Great Hall in anticipation of what the day would hold. Everyone that was but Severus, as he was in his office waiting for Draco and Lucius to arrive by floo. He would then disable the floo network, so no-one else could enter the building.

"Morning Severus," Lucius greeted sombrely as he alighted from the flames in the headmaster's office.

"Lucius," Severus returned. "Are we all set?" he asked as Draco joined them.

"Once Hermione and mother get here," Draco replied. "We couldn't all leave together as it might have proved suspicious. They'll be arriving via the village."

"Since we expected as much, the wards around the castle haven't been fully closed," Severus explained. "Once Hermione and Narcissa are inside, we can close them up and get as much protection in place as possible."

"And what about forces?" Lucius asked. "How much help do we have?"

"A lot," Severus answered.

"Are my friends all here?" Draco questioned. Like everyone else, his friends had been advised to arrive the day before, even though Draco was sure they wouldn't get as warm of a welcome as some other people.

"They're all here," Severus confirmed. "And as with a lot of people, they brought extra support. Did you know they were bringing the likes of Flint and Pucey?"

"No, but it doesn't surprise me," Draco replied with a shrug. "For a lot of people The Dark Lord is a good idea in principle, but the reality leaves a lot to be desired."

Sharing a look with Lucius, Severus couldn't help but agree with Draco's assessment of the situation. Like himself and Lucius, people had been lured into Voldemort's web, only to find the reality of dealing with such a dark wizard too much to handle. So really it wasn't too surprising that a few of the youngsters who would be expected to join Voldemort were choosing to fight against him before they also found themselves sucked into his servitude and heading down a dark path they might be unable to escape from.

Heading down to The Great Hall, the trio joined everyone else in waiting for Hermione and Narcissa to arrive. As they were waiting, breakfast was cleared away and The Great Hall cleared of any unnecessary furniture. In the end, only one long table stood in the centre of the room.

As they were waiting for Hermione, Draco also took the chance to make sure everyone was ready for what lay ahead. At Hermione's request he made sure the house elves knew they were free to leave, but most of them wanted to stay and fight. He also checked that the Basilisk fangs and venom were ready to go, and that Charlie was all set to track Nagini's movements.

An hour after Draco's arrival, the watch post Kingsley had set up in the Astronomy Tower alerted them to an approach from the direction of the village. Heading outside, along with several other people, Draco watched in amazement as Hermione and Narcissa led what looked like most of the village into the castle's grounds.

"What on earth is going on?" Draco asked as the villagers trooped into the castle.

"More reinforcements," Narcissa answered. "While Hermione was getting what she needed from the house in London, I was rallying the people of Hogsmeade. A portion of them have stayed behind to act as look-outs and to provide us with back-up, but most people were only too happy to come up and fight."

"The more the merrier," Kingsley remarked. "I'll get inside and give them a briefing."

"And we need to make this building as secure as we can," Lucius added. "This will be the last chance for anyone to leave."

"I don't think anyone will be leaving," Severus predicted.

Sure enough, no-one wanted to leave when they were offered a final chance to escape from the battle that was about to be waged. They were all ready to face Voldemort and his Death Eaters as they fought for the future and the freedom of the wizarding world.

Everyone who had any sort of ability with wards aided in the protection of Hogwarts, and after a solid two hours work, the castle was as fortified as it was ever going to be. They'd even added extra wards to the castle, so even if Voldemort and his Death Eaters got into the grounds, they would have to work extra hard to get into the castle itself. Which would hopefully mean the castle would stay under their control and they could take the fight to the dark, with the castle providing them protection.

"Are we all ready?" Hermione asked once the castle was fortified and everyone gathered in the Great Hall.

"What's going to happen once we destroy the Horcruxes?" Neville asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Draco replied with a shrug. "I'm working on the presumption that he's going to turn up to find out what's going on. But if it doesn't happen, we can send him a message."

"Never mind what happens afterwards, what happens now?" Charlie asked. "How are we planning on destroying these Horcruxes?"

"I know from what Harry said about the diary, that it's not going to be easy. We're destroying a part of Voldemort, and he's not going to give up easily," Hermione explained. "He's going to get in our heads, taunting us and trying to get us to stop. Which is why I suggest we destroy all four at once and work in pairs. We support each other as we do the deed."

"So you want eight volunteers?" McGonagall checked.

"Six," Draco answered. "Hermione and I are taking one of them."

"I'd like to do one," Ginny offered instantly.

"Are you sure, Ginny?" Bill asked his sister. "It's not going to be easy."

"I know, but I feel like I need to do it," Ginny insisted. "I know what happened with our family and Harry was their fault, but it only happened because of You-Know-Who. I need to do something to help."

"You're going to need someone to help you," Hermione said. "And I think it's going to work best if the pairs are two people with a strong connection."

"I'll do it," Neville volunteered before any of Ginny's brothers could offer their assistance. "Ginny and I can handle this together," he said, smiling at the redheaded witch as he took hold of her hand.

"If you want a strong connection, then George and I should do one," Fred offered. "You can't break us apart."

"And Theo and I would also like to do one," Blaise said, nudging Theo who nodded his agreement.

"Unless there's any problems, I say we go with that," Hermione suggested. "I know almost everyone here would be prepared to offer their services, but there's plenty of other ways they're going to be able to help."

"Yes, we can give you all of our support," Kingsley said. "Everyone will stay here, and make sure you're supported."

With decisions in place as to who was about to destroy the Horcruxes, Hermione produced the four items from her bag and placed them along the table in the centre of the room. Four basilisk fangs were then placed next to each Horcrux, along with a small pot of venom, which would be passed along the table and used to coat the fangs.

"Are we all ready?" Hermione asked as she and Draco took their place in front of the first Horcrux, which was the final one they'd retrieved, the bracelet from India. The twins took Hufflepuff's cup, while Blaise and Theo took the brooch and Ginny and Neville were left with the necklace.

"Since we don't know if it's the fangs or the venom that works, we need to make sure the fang is completely coated in the venom," Draco said as Hermione dipped their fang into the venom before passing the tub to George.

Once everyone's fangs were coated in venom, Draco gave the word, and working together every couple set about plunging them into the Horcruxes. Almost immediately, everyone involved in the process was assaulted by the piece of Voldemort's soul they were trying to destroy. All of them experienced visions and heard voices that no-one else could hear, and it was down to the partner they were working with, and the others in the room to make sure they pushed on and ignored the tricks of Voldemort's psyche.

"This is so hard," Hermione gasped to Draco as they worked together to drive the fang into the bracelet and destroy it.

"Keep going," Draco hissed through his teeth. "I think we're almost there."

A few minutes later, there was a crack in the bracelet and Hermione felt overwhelming relief as Voldemort's threatening voice vanished from her head and the smoky vision she'd been trying to ignore vanished. Turning to Draco, she saw his face was also filled with the same sort of relief.

"We've done it," he whispered.

However, they didn't have time to celebrate as they turned to the others to see how they were getting on. Blaise and Theo were the next to get through their Horcrux, followed by the Weasley twins. Then there was only Ginny and Neville left, and with one last final burst of force, they also broke the piece of jewellery they were working on and destroyed the Horcrux.

"What now?" Kingsley asked as a hush descended on the room.

All eyes turned to Draco, but before he could answer the question, his left arm began to burn and he feel to his knees in pain. Crouching down beside him, Hermione tried to help, but she knew that if Voldemort was hurting him there wasn't much more she could do for him other than being by his side. Luckily the pain didn't seem to last too long, and after a couple of minutes, Draco could get to his feet.

"He's coming," Draco announced breathlessly. "It's time."


	15. Chapter 15

There was less than five minutes between Draco warning that Voldemort was on his way and The Dark Lord turning up at Hogwarts. Those who had helped set up the wards around the school grounds, and were experienced with how they worked, felt him try and penetrate the wards when he arrived at the school, but most people were alerted to his arrival by Draco clutching at his left arm in pain.

Draco also had the added bonus of having Voldemort's booming voice in his head, ordering him to go to his side and explain himself. Knowing that The Dark Lord had the ability to use the mark to sense his follower's intentions, albeit with a lot of effort on his part, Draco focused on his defiance, wanting to send clear message to the dark wizard. After a couple of minutes the voice faded, and his arm stopped throbbing.

"What now?" Ginny asked nervously.

Before anyone could answer, Severus and Lucius also both clutched their left arms and let out low hisses of pain.

"Severus, you're the best of hoodwinking him," Lucius hissed through his teeth, not liking to show how painful Voldemort was making his mark. "Make it seem as though you want to go to him, but Draco and I are stopping you."

"What good will that do?" Draco asked as a couple of other people asked about how the connection to Voldemort via the mark worked and he quickly explained the connection Voldemort had with his marked followers.

"It might keep him outside for a bit longer before he goes off to call in reinforcements," Lucius replied, breathing slightly easier as the pain in his arm began to subside. "Just trust me, Draco. I have a plan. Let Severus try and keep him here. Now who's tracking the snake?"

"I am," Charlie called, from where he was set up at the end of the table.

"Is she with him?" Lucius asked.

"She's close," Charlie answered, focusing on using the magic he'd provided Draco with to track Nagini's whereabouts. "Just outside the main gates of the castle."

"Perfect," Lucius said with a nod. "The second he realises the number of our forces, he'll get the snake away and protect her. I know we can track her, but it could prove difficult getting to her. This is our chance to take her out before the main fight begins."

"How?" Hermione asked. "We were counting on taking her out in the heat of the battle. How can we take her out before then?"

"With some cunning, and a lot of bravery," Lucius replied. "Severus has manged to keep The Dark Lord here for the time being," he said, nodding to Severus who had confirmed Voldemort didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave, and seemed to believe he was trying to get to him. "What I suggest is that Severus, Draco and I go down to the gates to see The Dark Lord. We can keep him distracted while a group sneaks around behind him and lures the snake away. However, let's be clear that whoever does that job is in serious danger. They might destroy the snake, but they might not survive themselves."

"We're all in serious danger anyway," McGonagall pointed out.

"But how do we get to Nagini?" Hermione asked. "It's too risky to lower the wards anywhere around the castle."

"Hermione's right," Draco agreed with a nod. "Even the slightest chance and he'll take advantage and get in. He might be stuck outside, but we're stuck inside. And no-one in the village can help as they don't have the means to destroy the snake."

"What about the secret passages down to the village?" Lucius asked. "In my time, there were several secret ways down to the village. Most of which would go under the wards, so we won't have to lower them at all."

"I think most of the tunnels have been found and sealed up," McGonagall said.

"What about the one that comes out in Honeydukes?" Fred questioned. "It's the one we alerted Harry to in his third year when he wasn't allowed to go down to the village."

"And that was found and closed after Potter's escapade," Severus remarked.

"How about the one leading to the Shrieking Shack?" Hermione suggested. "That hasn't been closed up, has it?"

"No," Severus replied. "But partly because it's dangerous to get too close to the Whomping Willow. Since the adventures of you and your former friends, the tree is even more vicious than ever."

"But it's our way out," Hermione said. "A small group can arm themselves with basilisk fangs and get down to the Shrieking Shack. They can then approached Voldemort from behind and lure his snake away to destroy it."

"How do you lure a snake?" Neville questioned.

"With bait," McGonagall replied as she turned to the groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. "Could you provide us with some dead rats, or something like that?"

"I could," Hagrid confirmed in an unusually small voice.

To be honest, Hermione was rather surprised to see Hagrid was part of the rebellion force, and she hadn't missed the way he'd avoided her since her arrival at Hogwarts. Despite everything that had happened, he was clearly still loyal to Dumbledore, and it was plain to see that his death, along with Harry's, had rattled the half-giant. Still, he was here and willing to help, and Hermione was guessing that at the end of the day, wanting to get rid of Voldemort once and for all was more important than what had happened to his precious Dumbledore.

"That's sorted," Lucius said with a clap of his hands. "Now all we need are some volunteers."

"Bearing in mind you'll be in severe danger," Hermione cautioned, wanting everyone to be aware of how high-risk the operation was going to be. "As Lucius said earlier, you might take Nagini out only to be killed yourself. We can't guarantee your safe return."

"And you can't guarantee our survival in here either," Charlie pointed out. "We all know the risks, Hermione. We all know we're in a fight for our very lives. But this is a good plan, and it's likely to be our best chance to take out the snake. And I for one, want to be part of the group heading out. I can keep us on track to get to Nagini."

"I'll go as well," Bill offered. "And I think we should try and keep it a small group. The more of us there is, the more chance we'll have of being spotted before we can get to the snake."

"And I'll also go," Blaise volunteered. "Three of us should be enough."

"Are you sure about this?" Draco asked, speaking more to Blaise but also addressing Bill and Charlie.

"Yeah," Blaise replied with a firm nod. "Let's not delay any longer. If we don't move soon, he's going to go and then our plan will be pointless."

"Blaise is right, we need to get cracking," Lucius said. "We'll give those going down to the Shrieking Shack a bit of a head start, then we'll get down to the gates to keep The Dark Lord there. Just remember, we don't know if he's alone, so be careful."

"Actually, we can use the people back in the village to help with that," Madam Rosmerta, the landlady of The Three Broomsticks, offered. "Claudia's husband stayed behind, and they have some enchanted parchment they can use to communicate."

Claudia was the owner of the bookshop in Hogsmeade, and while Hagrid was gathering a sack of disgusting, dead animals to lure Nagini away from Voldemort, she used the parchment to get in contact with her husband. Less than ten minutes later, they had their reply. From the village it seemed as though Voldemort only had one companion with him – a dark haired female.

"Bella," Narcissa whispered.

"Who is just as dangerous as The Dark Lord," Lucius cautioned the trio about to leave the castle. "But also be aware that there might be other Death Eaters lurking in the shadows. It's unlikely, but I'd rather not get complacent. Let's procced with caution."

Although even proceeding cautiously, they had to get moving, and Hermione was among the small contingent that escorted Bill, Charlie and Blaise to the Whomping Willow. Magic was used to freeze the tree, but even so the three wizards had to move fast to get down the hole and into the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack.

"I hope they can do it," Ginny said quietly. "But more importantly I hope they survive."

"So do I, Ginny," Hermione said, giving Ginny a quick hug before she allowed Neville to take over reassuring the younger witch.

After that it was then time for Draco, Lucius and Severus to go and play their part. Hermione shared a lingering kiss with her boyfriend, before she stood in the castle doorway, watching him head down to meet Voldemort alongside his father and godfather. Only once they were out of sight did she head back into the castle to make sure that everyone was ready to fight, as they had no idea how long it would be before violence descended on Hogwarts.

With the castle behind them preparing for war, Draco led the way down towards the main gates. Tactics weren't discussed by the three wizards heading to face Voldemort, but Draco was preparing to take the lead, and he didn't for one minute think his father and godfather would object. After all, he and Hermione were leading this rebellion, and if it wasn't for them, this stand-off wouldn't be happening.

As they approached the gate, Draco automatically took the lead, and when he stopped a few inches from the iron gates, Lucius and Severus moved to flank him. on the other side of the gates, Voldemort was pacing the ground muttering to himself, and he looked livid as he turned his attention to Draco.

"You treacherous bastard," he hissed. "I should have killed you when you first told me about that mudblood bitch. I take it she is the reason you're doing this."

"We're doing this to free the world of you," Draco retorted. "But I wouldn't be doing this without Hermione. She's our inspiration. She's raised an army against you, and you know what My Lord, she's going to bloody well win."

"Cocky little git," Bellatrix spat, looking just as irate as The Dark Lord. "You would be nothing if it wasn't for The Dark Lord. My sister and her pathetic husband were always too soft on you," she added nastily, glaring in disdain at Lucius. "The Dark Lord made you what you are today."

"A killer?" Draco questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"A killer who will never be free," Voldemort cackled. "Your only chance of a future is with me, Draco. If you kill me, which you won't be able to do by the way, you will end up stuck in Azkaban for the rest of your miserable life. Sure this army might be allowing you to be part of it, but no-one is going to allow you to be free once this is over. You're a marked Death Eater, Draco. You've killed. And not you're not going to be able to make all the terrible things you've done go away."

"I may end up in Azkaban once this is over, but at least Hermione and everyone else will be safe," Draco retorted.

"Your little mudblood will not be safe, she'll be dead," Voldemort vowed. "If you do this Draco, I will kill her. I will make it my priority to find her, and kill her while you watch. She's dead if you do this."

"And she's dead if I don't," Draco snorted. "You're not going to let her live. It doesn't matter what I do for you, or how much I prove my darkness to you, you'll never be satisfied with her in my life. You would have found a way to kill her."

"Maybe," Voldemort conceded with a shrug. "But I guess we'll never know now. Now her life depends on you doing the right thing and coming back to me. I will still forgive you, Draco. You can still come back to me, and we can make a deal where your mudblood gets to live."

"What sort of a deal?" Draco asked, faking his interest as he'd noticed Nagini, who had been slithering around Voldemort's feet, moving towards the nearby trees.

"You've already mentioned an army, and given the fact I can't get into the school grounds, I'm guessing you're using Hogwarts as your base," Voldemort said. "Our deal involves you turning on that army and helping me destroy them all. Bar your mudblood of course."

"So what? Hermione and I are the only survivors?" Draco scoffed. "My parents are here, as are my friends."

"I can see your parents are here," Voldemort remarked, shaking his head at Lucius as though he was disappointed in him. "But they won't survive this. You chose a side Lucius, and it was the wrong one."

"Not from where I'm standing," Lucius returned with a smirk.

"And you," Voldemort continued, turning to Severus and ignoring Lucius's confidence. "I trusted you, but they couldn't have done this without your help. You betrayed me, Severus."

"And I would do it again," Severus said. "I'm proud to stand at Draco's side. I'm proud to stand with the witches and wizards who will take you down once and for all."

"It won't happen," Voldemort chuckled. "I know you think you've got the upper hand by destroying most of my Horcruxes. Which is rather impressive you even knew about them, by the way."

"Never underestimate my girlfriend," Draco remarked with a casual shrug.

"I rather suspected the mudblood was behind it," Voldemort said. "But you miscalculated. You don't have them all. I still have one which you will never get your hands on."

"You mean Nagini?" Draco questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"So you do know about her," Voldemort muttered with a frown. "But you will never get your hands on her. She's no ordinary snake. She is loyal to me, Draco. She will kill for me."

"So where is she?" Draco asked.

"My Lord, she's gone," Bellatrix gasped, whirling around as she tried to locate the missing snake.

"No," Voldemort cried, raising his wand and charging at the gates.

However, the spells that protected the castle kept Voldemort at bay, and all that happened was that the protective dome of magic that covered the grounds shimmered and red sparks appeared at the gates where Voldemort had tried to breach the wards.

"She's still alive, I can still feel her," Voldemort hissed to Bella. "Find her, and kill whoever has her. And as for you," he snarled, turning back to Draco. "Forget my offer. You're a dead man. Your wards won't hold forever. I will get through, and I can promise you that when I do, every single person in that castle will die. The walls of Hogwarts are going to run red with the blood of my enemies."

Without another word, Voldemort turned and stalked into the trees after Bellatrix. However, before Draco, Lucius or Severus could speak a loud, pained cry shook the air.

"The last Horcrux?" Lucius asked.

"I think so," Draco replied. "That sounded like The Dark Lord."

"Let's hope the others got back to safety before Bella caught up with them," Severus said.

Hoping the same thing, the trio set back up to Hogwarts. However, they were only halfway back to the castle when they heard another loud cry, and The Dark Mark floated into the air from the direction of the Shrieking Shack. Praying that it wasn't what it appeared to be, Draco took off at a run as he rushed to get back to the castle so they could try and find out what had happened to the brave trio who had ventured outside of the safety of the castle to destroy the final Horcrux.


	16. Chapter 16

Hogwarts shook with the force of Voldemort and his followers trying to break the extra wards around the school grounds. The sky was lit up with sparks as a constant barrage of spells battered at the protective measures in place around the school. With every moment that passed, those inside of Hogwarts knew the battle was coming closer. It was now only a matter of time before the barriers were broken and Death Eaters swarmed the school premises.

Both information from Hogsmeade, and lookout posts in the tallest parts of the castle confirmed that Hogwarts was now surrounded. Voldemort had called in his followers, and aside from a few places where the forest was too thick to penetrate, they were now gathered all around the school. There was no escape from Hogwarts, and everyone inside the castle knew they would soon be in a fight for their very lives.

Although not everyone was in a position to fight, and that included Blaise. When Draco had arrived back at Hogwarts he'd found a group had already accessed the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, and assistance was on its way to the trio who had destroyed Nagini. When the group did emerge, both Bill And Charlie were bleeding and had been hit with curses, but Blaise was totally unconscious and had been dragged to safety by the two Weasleys.

It turned out, Blaise had been hit in the back by a curse from Bellatrix just as they were entering The Shrieking Shack. A second curse had missed Blaise, but hit the wall of the dilapidated building and caused it to collapse on top of Blaise. Bill and Charlie had been able to drag him out from under the rubble and escape down the tunnel, although as an extra precaution, they'd collapsed the tunnel behind them, meaning that Bellatrix and Voldemort couldn't follow them. But it also meant they couldn't use the tunnel as a way out of Hogwarts.

Blaise was now settled in the make-shift hospital area, and while Madam Pomfrey had done her best for him, she still wasn't sure how serious his injures were going to turn out to be. His right leg had been crushed by the falling building, and his entire right ankle was shattered and would need extensive medical treatment if he ever hoped to walk again. They also didn't know if he had a serious head injury, as Madam Pomfrey didn't have the equipment to detect such injuries, and it was impossible to tell anything without the equipment until Blaise woke up. And so far, Blaise hadn't so much as stirred, let alone woke up. The only positive was that his heartbeat was strong and he was breathing unassisted without any problems.

"Draco," Hermione called softly as she entered the make-shift hospital area, where her boyfriend had been since Blaise had been dragged from the tunnel under the Whomping Willow.

"Are they in?" Draco asked. Even though he'd been inside, he could feel the constant barrage of spells aimed at the protective wards of the grounds, and he knew they were close to snapping.

"Very soon," Hermione replied. "Kingsley thinks it's best if everyone who's going to fight is outside. We need to surround the castle as they'll be coming at us from every angle."

"Maybe you should stay in here," Draco suggested as he got to his feet. "I don't want Blaise to be alone."

"He won't be alone," Hermione pointed out. "Madam Pomfrey is here, as well as the group who volunteered to help her. And that included Daphne."

"Okay, I would rather you stayed here for your own safety," Draco admitted. "He's going to try and get you, Hermione. He promised me as much."

"Then you're just going to have to stop him," Hermione retorted. "The best I will do, is position myself in the courtyard at the back of the castle. We know he's coming in from the front, so to get to me he'll have to get past you and around the castle."

"He'll also have to get past Severus and I," Lucius's voice said from behind Hermione. "We'll be by your side the entire time, Draco. We won't let him get anywhere near Hermione."

"Thank you," Draco said quietly, forcing down his emotions as the last thing he needed was to be emotional and make a mistake.

"We need to go," Lucius said. "The wards are going to drop any second now."

Knowing there was no further point in trying to persuade Hermione to stay indoors, Draco shared a passionate kiss with his girlfriend, before watching her head through the castle towards the courtyard, where she would do her fighting. He then joined Lucius in passing through the front hallway and exiting Hogwarts via the front doors.

The grounds were teeming with people ready to fight, and with his father on one side and his godfather on the other, Draco waited for the final confrontation with The Dark Lord. Not that he had long to wait as with a sudden bang and a shower of red sparks, the finals wards around the grounds collapsed.

"Here they come!" Kingsley shouted from somewhere nearby. "Remember to unmask them if you can. And fight to the death. If we lose here, our entire world is doomed."

Draco didn't need Kingsley's words to motivate him, but he saw the effect the Aurors words had on other people. Everyone around them seemed to stand taller, and determination showed on their faces. Trusting that everyone would do their best, and that Hermione especially could hold her own, Draco took several calming breaths as black figures appeared on the horizon on the first shots were fired.

While most people started by trying to unmask their opposition, Draco randomly sent spells shooting left and right as he searched for Voldemort himself. Although it didn't take long for Draco to spot the dark wizard, and as he made his way towards Voldemort, it seemed he was just as keen to face Draco as he ignored everyone else and focused on the young, blond wizard.

"To the death, young Draco?" Voldemort questioned, his voice laced with amusement.

"To your death," Draco retaliated.

He was so tempted to just shoot the killing curse straight away, but at the moment things were fairly crowded, and Draco fully expected Voldemort could easily dodge the spell this early in the game, which could lead to an innocent person being killed. So as frustrating as it was going to be, Draco knew he was going to have to engage Voldemort in a drawn out battle, firstly so the crowds had chance to disperse as the fighting spread around the castle, and secondly so that he could use his youth to his advantage and outlast a much older wizard.

As if reading Draco's mind, Voldemort chuckled and sent a string of curses he blond's way. Fully prepared for anything, Draco dodged the curses and sent his own back at The Dark Lord. And just like that, the pair were locked in a deadly battle which Draco knew only one of them would emerge from. He was just praying that he was the one who survived the battle, and he was also praying that wherever she was, Hermione was doing okay and that no matter what happened, Voldemort never got near to her.

* * *

Although Draco shouldn't have worried about Hermione, as around the back of the castle she was holding her own against the Death Eaters. Hermione may not have been an experienced fighter, but she knew a lot of spells, and often she was taking her opponents by surprise with her unusual choice of spells. Even so, she was making sure to stay focused and not get too complacent. She had every faith that Draco, Lucius and Severus would keep Voldemort well away from her, but he wasn't the only threat. Every single Death Eater was dangerous, and Hermione wasn't going to take anyone lightly.

Even though Hermione wasn't using the killing curse, she was using any other curse that came to mind, and once an opponent was down and she had the upper hand, she was using magic to bind them. It was a tactic Kingsley had mentioned using, and a small selection of their forces were going to be rounding up the trapped Death Eaters over the course of the battle. However, for Hermione, her priority was to take out and immobilise as many Death Eaters as possible. Even a Death Eater knocked out and tied up was one less they had to worry about fighting.

After binding yet another Death Eater she'd downed, Hermione took a brief breather, but her moments peace was shattered when she spotted Bellatrix heading in her direction. Hermione instantly knew the witch was coming for her, and for a moment she felt a shiver of dread run down her spine. After Voldemort, Bellatrix was the most dangerous opponent she could face, and Hermione had no doubt that the older witch planned to kill her. Not that Hermione was going to give in that easily, and with Bellatrix still several feet away, she fired the first shot.

The curse narrowly missed Bellatrix, but it seemed to delight her as she let out a disturbing cackle as she fired back at Hermione and launched herself at the younger witch. Hermione was rather shocked by Bellatrix's addition of physical assault to their fight, but she gave as good as she got, and within seconds both curses and punches were being exchanged between the pair. Bellatrix was a dirty fighter, scratching and gouging at Hermione in between shooting hexes at her, but Hermione was just as capable of fighting dirty and she got the pleasure of making Bellatrix squeal when she roughly yanked on her hair, pulling out a chunk in the process.

"Mudblood bitch," Bellatrix hissed.

"Death Eater scum," Hermione retorted, firing a stinging curse which Bellatrix only narrowly avoided.

As they continued to battle, Hermione wondered how best to get the better of Bellatrix. However, her momentary lapse of concentration on the battle at hand, led to Bellatrix landing a glancing blow to her ribs. Crying out in surprise, Hermione lost her footing and stumbled over a loose stone. Crashing to the ground, and losing her grip on her wand, Hermione quickly reached out to regain her wand, only to be stopped by Bellatrix's foot crunching down on her hand. The impact cracked several bones, as well as the heel of Bellatrix's boot, piercing the soft flesh.

"Got you," Bellatrix cackled as Hermione screamed in pain.

"Get away from her," a stern voice suddenly called, and amidst the pain she was in, Hermione looked up to find Narcissa standing behind her sister, her wand pressed into her neck.

"Don't be stupid, Cissy," Bellatrix warned. "You wouldn't hurt me, I'm family."

"Hermione is family," Narcissa corrected. "Leave her alone and come and play with someone your own size."

"Don't make me kill you, Narcissa," Bellatrix hissed. "Because I will. You betrayed The Dark Lord. You and that stupid husband of yours. Not to mention your traitor of a son."

"Move or else I'll kill you where you stand," Narcissa threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," Bellatrix chuckled, her laughter causing her foot to shake and her heel to dig further into Hermione's hand.

Even in such pain, Hermione had seen the determination in Narcissa's eyes. Bellatrix may have dismissed her sister's threat, but Hermione could see she meant it. It would undoubtedly pain her to do it, but Hermione was in no doubt that she would kill her sister for the greater good.

"I'll count to three, Bella," Narcissa said calmly. "One. Two."

"You won't do it," Bellatrix crowed smugly.

"Three," Narcissa continued as her sister continued to laugh at her threat. "Bye Bella. Avada Kedavra."

Hermione saw Bellatrix's eyes widen and the shock register on her face before her sister's spell hit her and she collapsed onto the ground. As she did so, the heel of her shoe came free from Hermione's hand, but it did so by tearing at the skin and Hermione felt queasy at the sight of the bloody mess her hand had become.

"Thank you," she whispered to Narcissa as the older witch knelt down to help her with her hand. "That can't have been easy."

"It wasn't," Narcissa answered quietly, her eyes briefly skittering over to her sister's body, before refocusing on binding Hermione's hand with a handkerchief she'd pulled from her pocket. "But it had to be done. She would have killed you, and countless other people. I loved her because she was my sister, but I'm aware of dangerous she was. Now, we should get you inside and get Madam Pomfrey to take a look at your hand. Half the bones are shattered, and the wound from Bella's heel is very deep."

"I'll get it looked at later," Hermione said, reaching for her wand with her left hand.

"You can't continue to fight," Narcissa argued.

"I can still fire spells with my left hand," Hermione retorted, even though she'd never tried using her wand with her less dominant hand.

"But how accurate would they be?" Narcissa questioned. "Don't risk your life to play at being a hero, Hermione. We've got strong numbers and we seem to be holding our own. Don't give them an easy target to take out. Come into the castle with me, even if it's just for five minutes to give yourself some time to recover from the shock."

Deciding that Narcissa was right, and a few minutes to gather her thoughts would be a wise move, Hermione accompanied the older witch into Hogwarts. Not that it was easy going as they still had to battle past Death Eaters. However, once inside the castle it was relatively peaceful as the extra security around the castle was still holding and at the moment it was still safe from the Death Eaters.

Moving to the hospital area, Hermione allowed Madam Pomfrey to check her hand out, while she got an update on the wounded. So far they had suffered several injuries, some of them pretty bad ones, but the dead were at a minimum. Or at least very few had made it into the castle. It could well be a different picture outside of the castle, and the grounds could be littered with bodies of those who'd died fighting to free the world from Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"Have you heard anything from Draco?" Hermione asked Madam Pomfrey.

"No," Madam Pomfrey replied. "But Mr Longbottom was in here only moment ago, and he said he was going to go and offer his assistance."

"Is Neville hurt?" Hermione asked.

"No, he was making sure Miss Weasley was safe," Madam Pomfrey explained. "She was hit be a curse and has a nasty gash on her shoulder, but she'll live."

"Good," Hermione replied with a sigh, making a mental note to have a quick check on Ginny once Madam Pomfrey had finished with her hand, then she would head back outside to find out what was going on with Draco and his battle with Voldemort.


	17. Chapter 17

When Neville joined the action at the front of Hogwarts, he instantly saw what a tough job Draco had on his hands. It was clear that Lucius and Severus were doing their best to back up the young wizard, and they were also trying to fight Voldemort alongside him, but the other Death Eaters just kept coming and drawing their attention away from Draco and The Dark Lord. Of course, Neville could see it was vital for the two older wizards to keep taking out the Death Eaters, as if they didn't, one of them would have gotten to Draco and either killed him, or interfered so much that Voldemort would have finished him off. But thanks to the work of his father and godfather, he was still fighting and while he was bleeding from several places, and was no doubt aching and exhausted, he was still going.

Eager to help, although aware that he wouldn't be able to dispatch the Death Eaters with the some ruthlessness Lucius and Severus were showing, Neville jumped into the fray. Throwing one Death Eater up against the castle wall, he ran to Draco's side and joined him in throwing curses at The Dark Lord, who was working very hard to avoid being hit. Although he had clearly been hit, as he too was bleeding and his left hand hung awkwardly at his side.

"Longbottom," Draco called, barely breaking stride as Neville appeared at his side. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you," Neville called back. "Or don't you want my help?"

"All help is greatly appreciated," Draco panted. To be honest he was starting to struggle in the battle, and already he'd missed three attempts to kill Voldemort once and for all.

However, Neville's presence seemed to turn the tide a bit, and Voldemort quickly seemed to be on the defensive against the two younger wizards. But Voldemort was never one for just accepting defeat, and he was soon taunting Neville about overlooking him as the chosen one and picking Harry instead. Draco was worried that his taunts would get to Neville, but the Gryffindor just seemed to ignore Voldemort and focused on helping Draco get the upper hand.

"You're not good enough," Voldemort sneered at Neville. "You were never good enough. I chose a half-blood over you, because I just knew how pathetic you were going to grow up to be. As if I would ever mark you as my equal."

"Then there's no reason to be worried by me," Neville retorted, shocking Draco by his brazen taunt. "And you are worried, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes. You think you're going to die today."

"Not by your hand," Voldemort snarled, hurling a hex at Neville which sent him crashing over the low wall that ran alongside the main steps up to Hogwarts.

"Longbottom?" Draco called, glancing over his shoulder for some sign of Neville, but not able to leave the battle to check on him.

Draco had still had no response a couple of minutes later when both his father and Severus reappeared and joined him in battling Voldemort. Trusting his father and godfather to keep The Dark Lord busy for a few moment, Draco jumped over the low wall to find Neville lying on the steps.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"I've been better," Neville admitted with a low groan.

"Did you hit your head?" Draco questioned.

"Yes, but I didn't pass out," Neville replied as Draco helped him sit up. "I could hear you calling, but couldn't find the breath to answer you. I think he just winded me."

"He's done more than that," Draco muttered, gesturing to the fact Neville's shirt was ripped and there was a bloody mark on his chest when Voldemort had hit him with the curse.

"It's just a cut," Neville said with a shrug.

"Look at the shape," Draco said quietly. "It's virtually the same shape as Potter's scar."

"But it's not a scar," Neville argued, looking down and his chest and agreeing the wound had a look of Harry's lightning bolt scar. "It's a cut. It'll be healed in a few days."

"But it's not healed now," Draco replied. "Right now, he's marked you."

"You're not saying what I think you are, are you?" Neville asked with a frown. "Because I'm not a saviour, Malfoy. I'm nothing special."

"Maybe, maybe not," Draco remarked with a shrug. "But I do know he's always put so much faith in the prophecy. Why else would he have attacked a defenceless baby? If he sees you with a mark of his creating, it might throw him enough to give us our opening. What do you say, do you want to try?"

"I won't be alone, will I?" Neville checked. He wasn't a coward, but he also wasn't stupid and he knew facing Voldemort alone would mean certain death for him.

"I'll be by your side the entire time," Draco replied. "Just back me up, and when it comes to it, trust your instincts."

Putting his faith in Draco, Neville agreed and together the two wizards climbed back over the low wall and re-joined the action. Lucius and Severus were still battling Voldemort, but The Dark Lord's attention was distracted by the return on Draco and Neville.

"You're keen Longbottom, I'll give you that," Voldemort chuckled.

"I'm more than keen," Neville replied with a smirk as he removed his torn shirt and threw it to the floor.

"Am I supposed to be impressed that you're not the little weed you appear to be?" Voldemort questioned with a bemused frown.

"You don't see it, do you?" Draco chuckled.

"See what?" Voldemort hissed, his annoyance clear for them all to see.

With another chuckle, Draco used magic to remove the blood from Neville's chest. Without the blood, his cut was clearly visible and Voldemort noticeably blanched at the sight.

"No, you can't be," he muttered to himself, backing away from the fight and inadvertently revealing that the reason he'd been fighting was that he didn't believe he would be defeated. But now with the presence of another 'chosen one', he was suddenly scared for his life.

"Now," Draco called, raising his wand and pointing it at Voldemort's chest. "Avada Kedavra!"

As the green light left Draco's wand, he realised he wasn't the only one who had cast the killing curse. Beside him, Neville had also cast the curse and on either side of the two teenagers, Lucius and Severus had also done so. As four jets of green light hit Voldemort's chest, his bewilderment was written all over his face. The stunt with Neville had caught him off guard, and much to his shock, the unthinkable had happened and he'd been hit with not one, but four killing curses. And not even Lord Voldemort could survive that, not with all his Horcruxes destroyed.

"Is he dead?" Neville asked the dark wizard's body finally fell to the floor.

In order to answer the question, Lucius and Severus moved forward to check on the body. Even though they confirmed he appeared to be dead, they still secured the body and made sure that not only could no-one remove it from where it lay, Voldemort himself couldn't leave if he wasn't in fact dead and suddenly came back to life. Although ten minutes later, he was still stone cold and word had started to spread that The Dark Lord was defeated.

As for Draco, Voldemort's defeat had shaken him to the core, and he'd collapsed to his knees, not sure what was going to happen next. For so long, taking out Voldemort was what had kept him going, and now that was done, he didn't know what to do. He knew Hermione had a whole life planned out for them, but he knew it wasn't going to be that simple. Before they could live the life she envisioned for them, Draco would have to deal with everything he'd done over the last year. But how did he even begin to process everything that had happened to him since he thought Hermione had died over a year ago? How did he learn to live with the sort of wizard he'd become?

* * *

An hour after Voldemort had fallen, Hogwarts was still in a state of disarray, although some semblance of order was slowly returning. As word had spread about his downfall, a large portion of his followers had fled, but some had stayed to fight. That group was slowly being subdued, and those who survived the battle were joining their comrades in being held prisoner in the dungeons of Hogwarts.

Bodies were also being gathered and laid respectfully in several classrooms on the ground floor. However, the fallen Death Eaters were being kept separate to the rest of the people who had perished in the final battle. Even Voldemort's body had been moved into the castle, although all the precautions were still in place even though it was looking as though he was truly gone this time.

The dead among the Death Eaters outnumbered those on the light, but the new Order and their supporters had still suffered some losses. Among the most notable lives lost was Rubeus Hagrid, and Hermione was sad that he'd died before she'd gotten to make her peace with him. However, there was a sense of relief that neither she or Draco had lost anyone they really cared about. Of course, most people had ended up injured in some way, but Blaise was the only one in any danger. In fact, he was top of the list to be transferred to St Mungo's, and when Hermione entered the Great Hall to find Draco, it was to deliver the news that Blaise would soon be heading to the wizarding hospital.

"We should go with him," Theo said when Hermione broke the news. The young Slytherins had all gathered together as the dust began to settle, but Hermione had noticed they didn't seem quite as separate from everyone else as they had been earlier.

"You should," Draco agreed.

"You should come as well, Draco," Pansy urged. "You've been injured as well."

"Hasn't everyone," Draco replied with a shrug. He was cut, bruised and bloody, but he'd suffered less than some people, Hermione included, whose hand was wrapped tightly and would need further medical treatment. "I'll be along as soon as I can. You lot go ahead, and make sure Blaise gets the best treatment."

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Hermione asked her boyfriend as his friends headed off to accompany Blaise to St Mungo's.

"I'd rather stay here until the castle is empty," Draco replied.

"That could take quite some time," Hermione remarked, sitting down next to Draco in the chair Pansy had just vacated. "Madam Pomfrey and her team are still treating people. Then we've got prisoners and dead to be dealt with, and the Ministry is in disarray."

"I think the perfect man to take charge of the Ministry is over there," Draco said, gesturing across the room to where Kingsley was organising a security detail for the Death Eater prisoners.

"Even if Kingsley takes charge in the short term, it's still going to take days to get things back to any sense of normality," Hermione remarked. "Are you going to stay here until then?"

"Okay, so maybe I won't stay until the castle is empty," Draco conceded. "But I can't just leave now. I know you feel the same. We organised this rebellion, we owe it to everyone who supported us to stay to the bitter end."

"I don't think anyone could argue about that," Hermione said, resting her head on Draco's shoulder. "You were there at the end, Draco. You're a hero."

"I think Longbottom was the hero," Draco replied. "I'm not sure I could have taken The Dark Lord out without his help."

"Speaking of Neville, where is he?" Hermione asked, looking around the Great Hall for her friend, whom she hadn't seen since shortly after Voldemort's death.

"He went off with Red," Draco replied. "She came in about half an hour ago and flung herself at him. After a few minutes of snogging in the middle of the Great Hall, he took her back to the hospital wing."

"Neville and Ginny were snogging in the middle of the Great Hall?" Hermione questioned in surprise, although looking back the pair had been getting closer recently.

"They were, and it was quite heated," Draco said.

"Good for them," Hermione said with a smile. "Did any of her brothers see?"

"The twins were in here at the time," Draco replied. "But I can't see any of them having a problem with it. Longbottom's a good guy."

"He is," Hermione agreed with a nod. "And so are you, Draco. You played a huge part in bringing down Voldemort."

"But is it going to be enough?" Draco asked with a sigh. "Does what happened today make up for everything else I've done?"

"I don't know," Hermione replied honestly. "But I do know whatever lies ahead, we're going to face it together. And I promise you Draco, I am going to make sure everyone realises that today couldn't have happened without you. Our world is free today because of you."

"It's not going to be easy, Hermione," Draco cautioned. "It's been easy to brush over what I've done over this last year and a bit, but now we're going to have to deal with it. I'm going to have to face up to everything I've done."

"And I'll be by your side the entire time," Hermione vowed, briefly pressing her lips against her boyfriend's. "I know it won't be easy, but we can get through it. And we're not alone. We have all our friends, and your family. Speaking of which, have you spoken to your mother?"

"Briefly," Draco answered. "She was pretty shaken up. I think it's just hitting her what she did. For which, I'm immensely grateful for," he added, gently taking hold of Hermione's injured hand. "She was heading up to Severus's office for some quiet. Father wanted her to go home, but she wouldn't go without him, and he's helping Kingsley make sure no-one escapes."

"Maybe you should go and see her," Hermione suggested. "Go and take a few minutes, then you can come back and help."

Deciding that Hermione might have hit on a good idea, Draco did head up to Severus's office to see his mother. He found Narcissa curled up in a large chair in front of the window, and he could instantly tell she'd been crying. Even though what she'd done had saved Hermione's life, he knew she would have to deal with the guilt of killing her sister for the rest of her life.

"Draco," Narcissa whispered, not looking too sure of what sort of greeting she was going to get from her son.

Without a word, Draco crossed the room and wrapped his mother in his arms. The second her arms came around him, and she hugged him back, he broke down as recent events caught up with him. Even though Draco was the one who was supposed to be comforting Narcissa, she was the one who did the comforting, and she started to believe that her son was finally coming back to her. Now Voldemort was gone, Draco could finally look to the future, and Narcissa was hopeful that it was a bright one. With any luck it would be a bright future for the entire wizarding world now the dark threat of Voldemort had been extinguished.


	18. Chapter 18

**Three months later.**

St Mungo's was its normal bustling self as Hermione and Draco traversed the familiar corridors. Over the last three months they'd spent rather a lot of time in the wizarding hospital. Neither of them had needed admitting after the final battle, but they had both received treatment, and Hermione had even had several more follow up appointments for her hand, which would forever be marred by a scar where Bellatrix's heel had gone through her hand.

However, it was as visitors that the couple had become so familiar with the hospital. Especially the wards where Blaise had resided for most of the last three months. Initially Blaise had been in intensive care, and it was over a week after the final battle before he finally woke up. Since waking up, he'd been cleared of any serious brain injury, although his memory now wasn't the best and he often had to be told things several times before they sank in and he remembered them.

But the most serious of Blaise's injuries were to his legs and right ankle. Once he was well enough to leave intensive care, he was moved to a different ward, which catered to mending badly broken bones. The bones in Blaise's legs had all been fixed long before he'd woken up, but his ankle and foot was fixed following his return to the land of the living. However, there had been complications with his ankle, and it was only a skilled private healer, paid for by the Malfoys, that had been able to save his right foot. Even so, the damage was still extensive and not only had Blaise had to learn how to walk again, he would also never be able to walk unaided. For the rest of his life he would have to use a stick to help him walk.

But finally, after three long months, Blaise was well enough to be discharged, which was why Draco and Hermione were at the hospital. It had already been decided that Blaise would be staying at the manor for the foreseeable future, as even though he was well enough to leave St Mungo's, he still needed to take it easy and to fully recuperate.

"Where have my parents gotten to?" Draco muttered to Hermione as they reached Blaise's room. Lucius and Narcissa were supposed to be with them, but at the last minute Lucius had claimed he had something to do and they would catch them up at the hospital.

"They'll be here," Hermione replied as she pushed open the door and entered Blaise's room.

Blaise was fully dressed and sitting on the hospital bed, but he was scowling at the wooden cane the hospital had provided him with. On a whole he'd dealt with everything really well, and he'd excelled in his physiotherapy, but the one thing Blaise was struggling with was the thought of being reliant on a cane. He complained that it made him feel like an old man, and he'd even tried to convince the staff at St Mungo's that he didn't need it. But it was to no avail, the cane was necessary, and Blaise wouldn't be leaving the hospital without it.

"Are you it?" Blaise asked when only Draco and Hermione entered his room.

"Are we what?" Draco asked.

"The delegation come to see me finally free of this place," Blaise replied. "I at least expected your parents to be here."

"Mother and Father are on the way," Draco informed his friend. "But who else did you expect?"

"I don't know, how about the rest of my friends?" Blaise questioned.

"We talked about this yesterday Blaise," Hermione said gently. "We decided it was overkill for everyone to come to the hospital. They'll all be at the Ministry, and then chances are most of them will come back to the manor with us."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember now," Blaise muttered, cursing his sodding memory and the fact it no longer worked properly. "And we're going to the Ministry because?" he asked, not able to remember anything about the Ministry.

"It's Kingsley's inauguration as Minister," Draco explained. "Although if you're not feeling up for it, we could skip it. Everyone will understand."

"Don't you want to go?" Blaise asked. His memory may have been faulty, but he still knew Draco and could tell he was looking for an excuse not to attend the ceremony.

"I could live without being there," Draco replied with a shrug. "His speech is bound to mention what happened at Hogwarts, and I'd rather not have the attention."

"Kingsley agreed not to mention you by name," Hermione pointed out. "He's focusing on the united way our world stood together, rather than the individuals."

"Whether he mentions names or not, everyone knows who he's talking about when he mentions The Dark Lord's downfall," Draco argued. "The second he mentions it, all eyes will be on Longbottom and myself."

"You're a hero," Blaise chuckled, remembering enough to know what the reaction had been to Draco since Voldemort's downfall.

"I'm no hero," Draco muttered bitterly.

He may have played a part in bringing down Voldemort, but he didn't think of himself as a hero. However, that wasn't the case with most of the wizarding world. Just after Voldemort's downfall, Draco was taken into the Ministry for questioning, along with everyone else who bore the Dark Mark, but not only had Hermione spoken up for him, but there had been a strong public demand that any past crimes should be forgiven in light of what he'd done for the wizarding world in helping to bring down Voldemort. It was made very clear that if it hadn't been for Draco, Voldemort would never have been brought down, and for that he was a hero. It was a mantle that didn't sit right with Draco, but he'd never fought the decision to pardon him as he knew just how lucky he was to be free after everything he'd done in Voldemort's service.

"I think a lot of people will disagree with that," Hermione said. "But we needn't argue about that now," she added when Draco opened his mouth, clearly to argue further. "Unless Blaise isn't up for it, we're going to the inauguration. I know Kingsley's been running things for the last few months, but today marks the start of a new chapter in Wizarding Britain's history. Today is the day we get to close the door on the past and look to the future."

"The future where I'm an old man with a cane," Blaise grumbled bitterly. "What sort of witch is going to fancy me now?"

"A witch with very good taste," Narcissa's voice answered from the doorway as the elegant blond witch swept into the room. "You're a catch, Blaise, and I doubt your cane will slow you down in the long run."

"It's just so ugly," Blaise muttered.

"Maybe I can help there," Lucius said, following his wife into the room and presenting Blaise with an elegant black cane, with an engraved silver snake at its head.

"You're giving me your cane?" Blaise asked in bewilderment.

"Heavens no," Lucius replied, moving aside his cloak to reveal his own distinctive cane attached to his hip. "I just merely had a second one made for you. You can even store your wand in the head, like I do."

"This is better than the one the hospital gave me," Blaise said, gingerly getting to his feet and testing the cane.

"And it's perfect for poking people you don't like," Lucius whispered to Blaise. "Not to mention how handy it is in a fight. I once knocked someone's front teeth out when I hit them with my cane."

"I think we've had enough violence to last us a lifetime," Narcissa scolded her husband. "We didn't get Blaise the cane so he could use it as a weapon. We got him it because he needed it, and it's a damn sight more elegant than the one St Mungo's was going to provide him with."

"I really appreciate it," Blaise said with a smile. "And I love it. Maybe having to use a cane isn't going to be so bad."

"Of course it won't," Lucius said, plucking his own cane from his hip and jauntily giving it a swing. "Canes are elegant, Blaise."

The new cane worked wonders for Blaise, and there was no complaining about having to use it as he signed the official documentation to leave the hospital. And when they arrived at the Ministry, to find his friends waiting for them, he wasn't opposed to showing off his fancy new cane.

As they settled down to witness Kingsley's inauguration, Hermione proudly held onto Draco's hand the entire time. He might not have seen himself as a hero, but she was under no illusions that without him, they wouldn't be sitting here today. The wizarding world would not be free place, and Voldemort would still have been in power. Draco might not have done it on his own, and everyone who had fought were heroes in their own right, but he was the vital part of the puzzle, without which victory would never have been secured.

As promised, Kingsley didn't single out any one person for praise when he recalled events of three months ago. Instead, he focused on how so many people had come together and stood up to the darkness their world had been infected with. However, it was inevitable that people's attention would drift towards Draco, and several times throughout the inauguration, he found himself subjected to stares from the public.

Although Draco wasn't the only one people were interested in, and almost as much attention was been given to Neville. After Voldemort's downfall, rumours had started to spread that he'd been the real 'Chosen One', but Neville had been quick to dismiss them, and he'd proven that he was in no way marked by Voldemort as the cut he'd received in the final battle disappeared in time like every normal cut. Even so, Neville was a hero, along with Draco.

And Lucius and Severus hadn't exactly emerged unnoticed either. Like Draco, they'd both been question by the Ministry after Voldemort's downfall, but their vital role in the final battle ensured that they were also pardoned for past offences. But it wasn't their past actions that people spoke about, it was their actions in the final battle. Everyone knew how much they'd helped Draco in battling The Dark Lord, and they knew that at the vital moment they were with Neville and Draco and helped deal the final, killing blow. Again, they'd played an unforgettable role in events at Hogwarts, and as such were lauded as heroes.

After the inauguration there was to be a formal reception, but neither Draco or Hermione were attending as they wanted to be there for Blaise as he settled into life at the manor. However, before they headed home, Hermione managed to catch Neville and the Weasleys, all of whom were wearing black and looked pretty sombre.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Not really," Ginny answered with a sigh as beside her, Neville put a comforting arm around her shoulders. The pair were now a fully-fledged couple, and Hermione could already see they were devoted to each other.

"We're heading to St Mungo's from here," Charlie explained. "It's time to let Dad go."

Since the incident at Azkaban, Arthur had been in a coma, and Hermione had learnt that he was only been kept alive with magic. Ginny had confided in her that there was nothing more the Healers could do for him, and although they could keep him alive, they couldn't cure him. He would never wake up, and he would never be the man he once was.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said sympathetically. Despite Arthur's role in her kidnapping, she knew he'd felt remorse and regretted his actions, which was more than could have been said about certain other people.

"So are we, but it's for the best," Bill said. "Dad wouldn't want to carry on like this. It's time we let him go and focused on the future."

Agreeing with the Weasleys that it was time to look to the future, Hermione said her goodbyes and headed back to the manor with Draco and the others. As expected, Draco and Blaise's other friends joined them and it was a pretty festive atmosphere as Blaise settled into life at Malfoy Manor.

An hour later, Hermione found herself taking in some fresh air at one of the back doors of the manor, when Draco joined her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered his thanks into her ear.

"What are you thanking me for?" she asked.

"For never giving up on me," Draco replied. "Even when I'd given up on myself, you were there believing in me. You saw me at my darkest, and you still loved me."

"I always told you we would get through it together."

"You did," Draco agreed with a nod. Although truth be told he was irrevocably changed by everything he'd gone through, and he was nowhere near recovered from all the horrors of his past.

"And I know we've still got a long way to go," Hermione said, turning around in Draco's arms and gazing up at her boyfriend. "We aren't just going to get over what happened in a few months. It'll be with us for the rest of our lives."

"Tainting them?" Draco questioned quietly, wondering if the past would always be a barrier to their happiness.

"I don't believe so," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "We survived, Draco. And I don't intend to let anything come between us again. You're mine, and I am never letting you go."

"Good, because I am never letting you go either," Draco returned, his lips curving into a tender smile.

"In that case, I think you should marry me," Hermione announced with a grin.

"Have you just proposed?" Draco asked incredulously.

"I have," Hermione confirmed with a laugh. "What do you say, Draco? Will you marry me?"

"In a heartbeat," Draco replied, swooping Hermione up in his arms and sealing the matter with a searing kiss.

Together, and separate, they'd been through more in the last few years than most people went through in an entire lifetime, and they'd survived. But more importantly their love had survived. And now finally with all obstacles out of the way, it was time for them to have the happy ending they'd fought so hard for.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **A/N – I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing the Shattered Trust series – especially since it's been going all year. I also want to thank everyone in general for their support this year – which I have to admit hasn't been an easy one in terms of writing.**

 **I also want to let people know what will be happening next year with my writing. This year has been hard – with outside factors such as the hot weather, a broken laptop and just life in general playing a part in how little I've wrote this year. But I have to admit, I didn't help myself and this year I put too much pressure on myself by publishing stories that weren't finished. I did it with the Goddess sequel, I did it with this series and I did it with the Darkness trilogy. (And for those waiting for the third part of the trilogy, I promise it will be posted sometime next year). With each of them I started thinking I was so advanced in the story that I would have it finished long before I got up to that bit of publishing, but it didn't work like that and more often than not I began to feel pressured into writing those particular stories when sometimes my interest was with other stories.**

 **So next year is going to be different, and I will no longer publish stories I haven't yet finished completely. That means there might be longer gaps in between stories, or updates only happening once a week rather than two or three times. But I think it's preferable than carrying on the way I've been this year and ending up putting myself off writing. I love writing and love sharing my stories with the wonderful people on this site, so I hope you understand my decision. I would rather publish less often, but keep writing and publishing than push myself and end up coming to an end with my writing.**

 **But I will definitely be back next year. So for now all that's left for me to say is to wish all you wonderful readers a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2019.**


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